Autism risk for babies conceived in winter months
WOMEN who fall pregnant in winter should take vitamin D substitutes, say experts.
Children conceived between January and March are at increased risk of having learning difficulties because their mothers do not get enough of the vitamin from sunshine, a study has found.
Researchers discovered that babies from winter pregnancies were more likely to develop autism or dyslexia than those conceived in summer.
Since 2012 all pregnant women have been advised to take vitamin D supplements to ward off conditions like rickets.
But the concern over mental development is a new worry.
Vitamin D is created naturally in the body through exposure to sunlight but women who conceive during the shorter days of winter may suffer from a lack of it. Professor Jill Pell of Glasgow’s Institute of Health and Wellbeing said: “It is important that women start supplements as early in pregnancy as possible – ideally while they are trying to get pregnant.”
The ground-breaking study of more than 800,000 Scottish school children revealed that 8.9 per cent of those conceived in the first quarter of the year had learning disabilities. The figure for babies conceived between July and September was only 7.6 per cent.
Conditions found to be more likely after conception in winter included autism, intellectual difficulties and learning problems like dyslexia.
The research was a collaboration between Cambridge University, the NHS and the Scottish Government.
Professor Gordon Smith, head of obstetrics and gynaecology at Cambridge, said: “Although the current study did not directly measure vitamin D, it remains perhaps the most plausible explanation for the trend.”
He added: “These findings underline the importance of health professionals recommending vitamin D and the importance of women complying with the treatment to optimise their chances of a healthy child.”
The research was published in the American Journal of Epidemiology. Around 700,000 people in the UK are on the autism spectrum.
Egg yolks, cheese and fish oil are other good sources of vitamin D, which has also been associated with a healthy heart and combating cancer, asthma and Type 2 diabetes.