By Mary Kekatos Health Reporter For Dailymail.com
Published: 18:01 GMT, 5 March 2019 | Updated: 18:06 GMT, 5 March 2019
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Taking prenatal vitamins during pregnancy could reduce a woman's risk of having a child with autism, a new study finds.
Women who already have a child diagnosed with the developmental disorder have a higher risk of any future children having the same diagnosis.
But researchers found that mothers who took prenatal vitamins during their first month of pregnancy slashed their younger children's risk of having autism by more than half.
The team, from the University of California, Davis, says its findings are the first to show that genetic susceptibility for developing autism may be avoided by taking prenatal pills.
A new study has found that not taking prenatal vitamins during pregnancy could double the risk of autism in children from high-risk families (file image)
Approximately one in 68 children has an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which includes autism as well as Asperger syndrome and other developmental disorders, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
It is more often diagnosed in boys than in girls by about five times.
People with autism often have problems with social, emotional and communication skills. They might
