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I think the general advice to pregnant women is to generally avoid most/all medications as much as possible as a just in case thing. There are a lot of things

I think the general advice to pregnant women is to generally avoid most/all medications as much as possible as a just in case thing. There are a lot of things that it could be that changed to bring more autism in society. It could also be a multi-generational affect of things started close to a century ago. We have a lot of food that isn't anything someone a couple hundred years ago would consider "food"... highly processed, industrialized, refined, etc. The fact is, we largely don't know, and a lot of affects are individualized.

defrost 1y ago
There are concerns that the increase in autism diagnoses is because something is causing more children to be affected by the condition. Is this accurate? Changes in the diagnostic criteria and increased screening at wellness visits seem to be the main contributors. There have been a few studies over the past two years that have looked at a specific subgroup of individuals on the spectrum who frequently need 24-hour-a-day support and care from a caregiver, often have very limited verbal communication skills, or have intellectual disability that co-occurs with autism. The data has shown that rates of autism for that subgroup have increased minimally, if at all, over the past nearly 10 years. ~ Is There an Autism Epidemic?, John Hopkins, Bloomberg School of Public Health: https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2025/is-there-an-autism-epidemic https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2025/is-there-an-autism-epidemi... Autism diagnoses are on the rise – but autism itself may not be Autism is better known and diagnosed than ever before, leading to misconceptions that cases are skyrocketing. ~ BBC, 10th May, 2025: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250509-why-autism-diagnoses-are-on-the-rise https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250509-why-autism-diagn...
- add-sub-mul-div 1y ago
  That makes sense, my own recent diagnosis is mild and borderline. I went my whole life without even knowing I had it. I'm sure the rising numbers include lots of people like me. People who for all intents and purposes don't have autism in the manner that people think about when they're imagining or being made afraid of someone very different.
add-sub-mul-div 1y ago
No, they shouldn't avoid medication as much as possible, because leading them to think they should ignore symptoms is dangerous just like the taking the wrong medication. They should consult their doctor about when during pregnancy acetaminophen is appropriate. And as long as they've chosen a real doctor who doesn't give advice based on culture wars, they'll be fine.
afavour 1y ago
> I think the general advice to pregnant women is to generally avoid most/all medications as much as possible as a just in case thing. I really don’t think that’s true. e.g. having a fever for a prolonged period could endanger the woman and/or the baby and taking Tylenol would be a risk reducer by comparison. > There are a lot of things that it could be that changed to bring more autism in society. Also quite possible that there isn’t any more autism in society, just that greater awareness has led to increased diagnoses.
bryanlarsen 1y ago
IMO, that general advice is wrong. Fevers are known to be dangerous to a fetus, especially in the first trimester. Embracing a known danger to avoid an unknown potential one seems crazy.

defrost 1y ago

There are concerns that the increase in autism diagnoses is because something is causing more children to be affected by the condition. Is this accurate? Changes in the diagnostic criteria and increased screening at wellness visits seem to be the main contributors. There have been a few studies over the past two years that have looked at a specific subgroup of individuals on the spectrum who frequently need 24-hour-a-day support and care from a caregiver, often have very limited verbal communication skills, or have intellectual disability that co-occurs with autism. The data has shown that rates of autism for that subgroup have increased minimally, if at all, over the past nearly 10 years. ~ Is There an Autism Epidemic?, John Hopkins, Bloomberg School of Public Health: https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2025/is-there-an-autism-epidemic https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2025/is-there-an-autism-epidemi... Autism diagnoses are on the rise – but autism itself may not be Autism is better known and diagnosed than ever before, leading to misconceptions that cases are skyrocketing. ~ BBC, 10th May, 2025: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250509-why-autism-diagnoses-are-on-the-rise https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250509-why-autism-diagn...

add-sub-mul-div 1y ago
That makes sense, my own recent diagnosis is mild and borderline. I went my whole life without even knowing I had it. I'm sure the rising numbers include lots of people like me. People who for all intents and purposes don't have autism in the manner that people think about when they're imagining or being made afraid of someone very different.

add-sub-mul-div 1y ago

No, they shouldn't avoid medication as much as possible, because leading them to think they should ignore symptoms is dangerous just like the taking the wrong medication. They should consult their doctor about when during pregnancy acetaminophen is appropriate. And as long as they've chosen a real doctor who doesn't give advice based on culture wars, they'll be fine.

afavour 1y ago

> I think the general advice to pregnant women is to generally avoid most/all medications as much as possible as a just in case thing. I really don’t think that’s true. e.g. having a fever for a prolonged period could endanger the woman and/or the baby and taking Tylenol would be a risk reducer by comparison. > There are a lot of things that it could be that changed to bring more autism in society. Also quite possible that there isn’t any more autism in society, just that greater awareness has led to increased diagnoses.

bryanlarsen 1y ago

IMO, that general advice is wrong. Fevers are known to be dangerous to a fetus, especially in the first trimester. Embracing a known danger to avoid an unknown potential one seems crazy.