MONDAY, Oct. 28 (HealthDay News) — Modest weight gain during
pregnancy might be a sign for autism risk among newborns, new research
suggests.
Investigators took pains to stress that it is not weight gain itself
that is being tagged as a cause of autism. Nor do the current findings
reflect in any way on how pre-pregnancy weight might affect the future
offspring of mothers-to-be.
Instead, the study team believes that a small rise in weight
occurring while pregnant might be an indication that some broad and
complex process — perhaps involving hormone and inflammation
irregularities — is underway, of which weight gain is a reflection.
If so, then weight gain during pregnancy might serve as an easily
recognizable marker for a constellation of events that collectively
increase the risk for autism.