Perinatal Aspects and Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Update Review

Abstract

Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is understood as a group of phenotypic conditions that have in common changes in the development of sociability and communication. Methods: This is a narrative review aiming to update the proposed theme. We used population-based studies such as cohorts, case-control studies as well as previous reviews, published at PubMed, SciELO-LILACS and Cochrane library between January 2018 and May 2019. We used the descriptors: autistic disorder, combined with pregnancy and the MeSH Terms: Autism Spectrum Disorder, combined with pregnancy. 52 studies were selected and, after exclusion criteria, 34 composed this review. Results/Conclusion: Throughout the analysis of results, we could observe, despite of genetic causes, that during the whole pregnancy and postpartum period, the interaction of the pregnant women with the environment and some risk factors that may interfere in maternal-fetal health, such as parent's age, race, being migrants, hypertension, diabetes, use of anticonvulsants, acetaminophen, fetal growth restriction, pre-eclampsia, excessive weight gain and labor complications that showed association to ASD, while alcohol, smoking, folic acid use and vaccination had no association. It's up to health professionals to educate themselves even more so as to anticipate, as far as possible, the disorder and know how to deal with special children, free from prejudices and stigmata.