As if worrying about getting pregnant isn’t enough, a new study suggests that infertility treatments may put children at an increased risk for autism. A study done at the University of California showed a four times greater instance of autism in women who had taken fertility drugs to get pregnant.
Since I am a former infertility patient, this study caught my attention right away. I was injected with fertility drugs to conceive our first child. I’ll admit that I was so intent on having a baby that I didn’t know, or care, what was in the drugs. I just wanted my baby.
The study followed 4000 women, half had used fertility drugs and the other half had conceived on their own with no medical assistance. In addition to an increase in autism, the study found the mothers who used fertility drugs were 40% more likely to have children with ADHD, learning disabilities and disorders related to sight and hearing.
When I read this study, I began to think about recent discussions in the forums about vaccinations and autism. There are studies to suggest that thimerosal used in vaccines could be responsible for the increase in autism rates. Thimerosal contains mercury and is used as a preservative in some vaccinations. It occurred to me that a large percentage of fertility patients are injected with medications.
I began to wonder if there could be a link. Was thimerosal in fertility drugs? I had to find out. I have spent the last two days reading and researching this issue. What I have found is that most of the commonly used fertility drugs do not contain thimerosal. Other than that fact, there are no clear cut answers to back up the study.
There are no answers as to why the rates of autism are four times higher among the group receiving fertility drugs. The authors of the study do have one theory. They wonder if the causes of infertility may provide the link. One theory involves environmental pollution. Much of the population has toxic levels of a wide variety of chemicals in their bodies. This may provide the link researchers are missing. Further study will be needed to replicate the findings and discover the reasons for the results.
We will just have to wait for the results of future studies. If the studies replicate the findings of the University of California study, more information is needed to protect women and children. Researchers will have to invest time and effort to discover the reasons for the increased rate of autism and other disabilities.
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