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A study released on Monday found a link between induced or
augmented labor, that is, the use of Pitocin, and autism.
Women whose doctors decided to begin labor by administering
Pitocin, an artificial form of oxytocin, or to speed up contractions with
Pitocin were up to 23 percent more likely to have children diagnosed with autism
spectrum disorder.
Sorry I can't find a link to the actual study yet. Read
more: http://healthland.time.com/2013/08/13/induced-labor-linked-to-higher-autism-risk/#ixzz2bs2jhpuR
Researchers matched the birth records for 625,000 babies in
North Carolina over an eight-year period with their public school records,
which would include an ASD diagnosis. They found that kids born via induced
labor had a 13 percent higher risk of developing autism, while augmented or
sped-up labor made it 16 percent more likely that the child would develop ASD.
When induction and augmentation were combined, a child had a 23 percent greater
risk of ASD.
According to USA Today, lead author Simon Gregory thinks
there is not a direct link between pitocin and autism, but rather in something
going wrong in the pregnancy that requires induced labor.
The increased autism risk in the JAMA study likely
stems from an underlying problem with the pregnancy, rather than any of the methods
used to jump-start labor, says lead author Simon Gregory of the Duke Institute
of Molecular Physiology.
This is a bit surprising, because Gregory was the lead author
of a 2009 study that found evidence that epigenetic regulation of the oxytocin
signaling pathway might contribute to the development of the disorder. That is,
environmental factors, whether internal or external to the body, might cause
oxytocin receptors to not function correctly. (Genomic and epigenetic evidence for oxytocin receptor deficiency in
autism, BMC Medicine 2009, 7:62.
Read my earlier blog post on this study.
Moreover, Gregory seems to ignore the fact that labor is
routinely induced and/or augmented in hospital births, whether or not there is
a true problem with the pregnancy: In 2008, 23.1 percent of all births
were induced, according to the U.S. Census. I can't find any good stats on
the percentage of births that are augmented, also known as actively managed,
but my understanding is that it's most hospital births. (Active management of
birth means that the hospital sets a time period in which it expects labor to
be completed and does whatever it takes to meet that time frame. A pitocin drip
is started and the dosage is increased to keep the labor on that timetable.)
Birth educators and ASD activists have long thought there
might be a link between the use of artificial oxytocin during labor and birth
and the development of autism spectrum disorder.
Natural birth advocate Michel
Odent is one of many who believes the use of Pitocin can disrupt the bond
between mother and baby, as well as contribute to autism.
One theory is that the flood of oxytocin shuts down oxytocin
receptors in the baby's brain, preventing them from functioning correctly later
in life.
In a natural birth, oxytocin pulses come from the mother's
hypothalamus, creating contractions -- and also traveling in the baby's
bloodstream through the placenta. The bodies and brains of mother and baby have
time to rest and reset between the oxytocin rushes. But in actively managed --
augmented -- birth, Pitocin is a steady drip that is usually constantly
increased until the baby is delivered.
Whether or not you attribute the results of Gregory's latest
study to induction or augmentation itself, I think it makes sense to limit the
amount of drugs infused into a newborn's system.
Read more:
Could
Pitocin During Labor Program Oxytocin Receptors?
The
Case for Harm from Pitocin in Labor
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