Fertility woes linked to having an autistic child
Rates of autism are higher in children born to parents who struggled with fertility, research shows.
A study of 1.37 million children in Canada born between 2006 and 2018 found 22,400 had autism diagnosed.
Overall 87 per cent of parents had their children naturally, through unassisted conception and 10 per cent had “subfertility”, meaning it took them a relatively long time to conceive naturally and they sought advice. Another 3 per cent had fertility treatment such as IVF or artificial insemination (IU).
Children born to parents with “subfertility” were 20 per cent more likely to have autism diagnosed, and those born via IVF were 16 per cent more likely.
Autism is a developmental disability in the brain that can lead to difficulty with social communication
