Is It True That Pregnant Women Eating Shells Can Cause Autistic Children? This Is A Doctor's Explanation

Shell (Freepik/jcomp)

JAKARTA - Recently, social media was shocked by a mother's statement claiming that her child had autism due to consuming shells during pregnancy. The story was shared by the X @MissSatyani account, she admitted that she regretted eating shells when she was pregnant.

For him, this caused his first child to be born autistic, a brain and nervous function disorder that was complex enough to affect the behavior and process of thinking. However, the tweet has now been deleted by the owner of the X account. This issue has also reaped various responses from the community, especially prospective mothers who are worried about food intake during pregnancy.

Responding to this, dr. Victor Prana Andika Santawi, Sp.OG, M.Res, A Gymnastics & Biological Specialist from Eka Hospital Family & Grand Family, provides an explanation of the relationship between the consumption of shells while pregnant and the risk of autism in children. According to dr. Victor, autism has many factors that are still the object of research, such as cancer.

"So, autistics is a lot of factors, until now it's like cancer. If you don't prepare it from the start or when you have aide in the stomach, it's not good, then it doesn't come out well either," said dr. Victor, when met in the Blok M area, Jakarta on Thursday, January 30.

He emphasized that the human brain began to form from the beginning of pregnancy, so good nutritional intake is very important in supporting fetal development. If since the womb of a baby gets good nutrition, the physical and intellectual development will also be more optimal.

"It's the same so we're good at it, so it will continue to be good. Smart children themselves, their IQ is high on their own, their own height is easy to grow," said Dr. Victor.

Regarding the consumption of shells during pregnancy, dr. Victor explained that until now there is no scientific evidence that specifically states pregnant women eat shells that can cause autism children.

"For shells, what is feared is that there may be heavy metal. We don't know, the shells are ripe or not. The shells themselves have not been included in the list of foods that we think must be watched out for," he explained.

As long as the shells are consumed in ripe and fresh conditions, it should not be a problem for pregnant women. However, if it is not ripe or not fresh, it can trigger allergies or infections that are risky for the health of the mother and fetus.

"As long as the shells are ripe, fresh, if not it's an allergic fishing too, theoretically it doesn't cause fetal congenital abnormalities," said dr. Victor.

In comparison, dr. Victor mentioned that there are several substances that have proven to have a bad impact on fetuses, such as cigarettes, alcohol, and foods that contain parasites. However, until now there is no specific evidence that suggests that the shells are the direct cause of autism.

"For example, cigarettes, alcohol, food that can contain parasites, it's clearly not allowed. There are already known what substance causes, how to answer it. While the shells are not specific, it is known whether they are autistic or not," said dr. Victor.

Furthermore, dr. Victor emphasized that autism is not a condition that can be associated with only one factor. There are many other factors that can affect, such as genetic factors, exposure to harmful substances during pregnancy, or other environmental factors.

"On the other hand, there are 1001 causes of autistic. It can be built-in, other factors, it can be exposed to cigarettes, alcohol exposure that we don't know about. So we can't say it's autistic because (pregnant women) eat shells," said dr. Victor.

However, he understands that parents who have children with autism certainly want to find out the cause. This is a reasonable psychological response, because parents want to understand the condition of their children and find the best way to support their growth and development.

"If we don't know anything, it's better if there is a wrong explanation, rather than not having an explanation, it's psychologically like that. So find out ' why my son is autistic?', keep looking." said dr. Victor.