Greg Poland, MD, a researcher at the Mayo Clinic has been studying the flu virus for a quarter century. He says you can think of the flu vaccine as an “anti-autism vaccine.”

It’s a startling statement, but it is backed up by several recent studies. Dr. Poland says pregnant women who get influenza have double or triple the risk of having a child with autism. So preventing flu during pregnancy is vital.

The rubella vaccine also decreases the risk of having a child with autism, but the rubella vaccine must be given before a woman gets pregnant.

The flu vaccine is safe at any stage of pregnancy, but pregnant women get the flu shot, not the nasal spray.