Clomid and Autism spectrum disorder

[Dustydew]

I have been reading some articles regarding the increased risk of (ASD) Autism spectrum disorders, in children conceived with clomid and IVF.
After reading these things, my initial excitement for finally starting fertility treatment has gone and I am very anxious and scared
I am on my 1st clomid cycle now, and would like to hear from anyone who had any such experience, specially if you think it can have any potential risks for the child conceived from a clomid induced egg.
I know there are lots and lots of healthy clomid babies around, but I am now concerned and would like you to share if you had any negative experiences, that would hint towards real potential risks associated with clomid use.

 

[pink_kitty]

Now I'm concerned too. I hadn't heard of such a link between clomid and autism. I'm also interested to hear what others experience or thoughts are. I'm currently on my 5th cycle of clomid.

 

[KirbyT16]

I had not heart anything like this either. I am on my 3rd cycle w/ it. I will have to do some research.

 

[hopefulfor1st]

Rubbish!
They just because a few mothers of autistic kids are looking for someone to blame.
There's no way to prove that those babies would have been healthy if the mother had conceived without clomid.

 

[amjon]

If there is a higher rate it's very likely due to the reason for having to take it over the drug itself (maternal age maybe?). We used Letrozole and would have no problem using it again if conceiving a healthy baby became an issue again.

 

[Destiny08]

I agree that its rubbish. people blame autism on everything these days, including having your children vaccinated.
i havent researched it, but im sure if you were to look at the number of people with autism compared to the total population, and then compared the number of clomid babies WITH autism to the number of clomid babies without it, the numbers would be very very similar.
also as someone said above, it could be due to the reason the mother was taking clomid. ie her age, or a result of fertility treatments - ie multiple births, which tend to lead to preterm delivery which is often linked to low birth weight - all of which can cause ASD on their own.

but yes. i think its rubbish personally simply because you encouraged an egg that was already there to make its way out, doesnt make it more likely that that egg will develop into a child with ASD.

 

[Destiny08]

as a sidenote. you may get better info if you go to the 'kids &teenagers' section of the forums and look for parents who conceived using clomid. do a poll or something and see for yourself how many of them ended up with ASD and if their parents believe clomid caused it

 

[Pirate]

Research does indicate that there is a correlation between infertility treatments and autism, however correlation does not imply causation. News media does an excellent job of fear mongering and making studies sound way worse than they actually are). Here is a recent example: https://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1990567,00.html. Please understand that I have read the full text of the actual articles in the Time article mentioned above.

Here is what I wrote in another place about the article that I linked above: I would also like to point out that the study said that 4% of babies born to mothers over 35 who had fertility treatment had symptoms of Autism (lower in younger women) as opposed to 2% of the general population. Further, research has proven that children born to women age 35 and over are at higher risk for autism anyway, regardless of fertility treatment, so I think it is hard to draw anything more than a correlation between clomid and autism. Correlation does not imply causation.

Essentially, yes, fertility treatments may increase the risk of Autism (or any number of other things such as multiples), but the increased risk is so small that it is unlikely to happen. It wouldn't prevent me from taking Clomid or another drug (which, in all likelihood will happen within the next several months).