Study: Increased Autism Risk for Closely-Spaced Babies

Monday, 10 January 2011 | by Pat's Picks

According to new research, spacing your babies too close together can raise their risk of autism. USA Today says a child has three times the risk of developing autism if they are born less than a year after their older sibling. One theory is that pregnancy depletes the cache of nutrients a mother has, leaving less folic acid and iron for the second child. Experts say closely-spacing children has also been linked to “schizophrenia, premature birth and low birth weight.”

Read an abstract of the study, published in the journal Pediatrics