A new study now guesstimates that 1 in 53 cases of ASD may be
linked to obesity during pregnancy.
First thought on this -- isn't it entirely possible that obesity
during pregnancy is indicative of an unhealthy lifestyle? Isn't
it also likely that an unhealthy lifestyle, in and of itself,
could cause issues for a developing fetus?
Second thought -- doesn't obesity during pregnancy mean that mom
is probably not eating right? On this note, research indicates
that prenatal nutrition and nutrition during the first few
months of pregnancy has a direct impact on the occurrence of
ASDs.
See Rebecca Schmidt,
Robin Hansen, et al., “Prenatal Vitamins, One-carbon Metabolism
Gene Variants, and Risk for Autism,” Epidemiology
Vol.22:4 (July 2011)). Moreover, this research showed that
women who took prenatal vitamins three months prior to
conceiving and during the first month of pregnancy
had a statistically significant lower chance of having a
child with ASD.
Third thought -- if obesity does contribute to the issue, then
seeing a good nutritionist isn't just a luxury.
Nutrition DOES matter! Tina can help . . .