Before I say anything else, let me say that if you are the mother of a person with Autism, it is not your fault. Please remember that you made the best choices you could, given the information available at the time.
Last Month, in the journal Pediatrics, a study was published that strongly links the use of SSRI (Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors) antidepressants in the first trimester of pregnancy to a 300% increase in rates of autism.
Considering that the mysterious rise in the rate of autism in North America is about 300%, this may go a very long way toward explaining the increase.
So what does this mean, and what can we do about it? Well, first of all, if you are a physician, it would be a good idea to seriously reconsider prescribing SSRIs to women of childbearing age. Secondly, if you are a woman who struggles with depression, it may be important to seek another treatment method before becoming pregnant, and to be very careful with birth control. Thirdly, talk about this issue. Don’t let this crucial finding get lost.
This article appeared a month ago, and I expected an immediate class action suit, and mass media attention. Look at what happened when it was fraudulently claimed that vaccines were causing autism. And now we have some good science that makes a powerful correlation between an avoidable drug and a lifelong struggle, but no-one seems to be reacting.
We need to spread the word. There are some who would prefer that this information was buried. But I think it’s time to tell young women what they need to know, so they can make the treatment choices that are safer for themselves and for their children.
Prevalence of Autism in United States- from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism
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