The Link: Folic Acid For Pregnant Mothers Cuts Kids’ Autism Risk

The Story:

Having an autistic child is hugely difficult.  Doing one simple thing can dramatically reduce the odds of having it happen to you.

A study published this year found that women who took folic acid supplements were  40% less likely to have autistic children.  (The ones who got the most benefit started taking the supplement a month before becoming pregnant and continued taking it for the first two months.)

It’s an amazingly easy, cheap, effective way to improve your odds as a prospective parent.  A forty percent improvement from a single cheap, common pill.

I don’t have any kids yet, but when my fiancee and I decide to have them, we’re definitely doing this.