Pregnancy infection increases a child’s autism, suicide risk

Children whose mothers were hospitalized with an infection during pregnancy may be at increased risk for autism, depression and suicide later in life, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, Washington, and the Sahlgrenska Academy in

The findings, published March 6 in JAMA Psychiatry, suggest that any infection in the mother during pregnancy—even those of microbes that do not invade the fetal brain—may increase a child’s risk of developing autism and depression.