Must read for women wanting to get pregnant

Women who reported not taking a daily prenatal vitamin immediately before and during the first month of pregnancy were nearly twice as likely to have a child with an autism spectrum disorder as women who did take the supplements -- and the associated risk rose to seven times as great when combined with a high-risk genetic make-up, according to a study in journal Epidemiology.

Specifically, mothers of children with autism were significantly less likely than those of typically developing children to report having taken prenatal vitamins during the three months before and the first month of pregnancy. It is the first to suggest a concrete step women can take that may reduce the risk of having a child with autism.

Consuming prenatal vitamins may be especially effective for genetically susceptible mothers and their children. This finding appears to be the first example of gene-environment interaction in autism. Researchers collected data from approximately 700 Northern California families with 2- to 5-year-old children who had autism or typical development and were participants in the Childhood Autism Risk from Genetics and the Environment (CHARGE) study between from January 2003 to December 2009. If this finding is replicated, it provides an inexpensive, relatively simple evidence-based action that women can take to reduce risks for their child, which is to take prenatal vitamins as early as possible in a pregnancy and even when planning for pregnancy.

Steve - if you are a client or reader of this blog, you know that we advise taking a quality prenatal at least three to six months before you plan to conceive. We will also be publishing a pregnancy data update in our next issue of NCI Well Connect.