The Correlation Between Pregnancy, Delivery Characteristics and Autism Spectrum Disorder and Symptomatic Severity

？？Objective: Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder. Although Autism is substantially hereditary, it has been associated with environmental factors as well. This study investigates the correlation between pregnancy period and delivery characteristics and Autism and to evaluate whether or not there is a correlation between the symptom severity and some factors in this period. Method: In the study, 35 children, who were admitted to the Child/Adolescent Psychiatry Clinic, diagnosed with Autism were taken as the study group, and their 35 siblings of the same gender with the closest age and without any mental disorder were taken as the control group. The diagnosis of Autism was made according to the DSM-5 Diagnostic Criteria in the clinic interviews held. Characteristics of delivery and birth were questioned by sociodemographic data form. And the symptom severity of Autism was assessed by using the Autism Behavior Checklist. Results: The rate of unplanned pregnancy and stressful life events during pregnancy was found to be significantly higher in the cases with Autism, and no correlation was found between Autism and other factors. The social relating, body and object use, language skills and total scores of the Autism Behavior Checklist were found to be significantly higher in children with Autism who were born as a result of unplanned pregnancy. Conclusion: There are few studies on Autism etiology in our country. It is important to investigate the effects of environmental factors in the etiology of Autism, and that elucidation of the etiology can contribute to prevention studies of the disorde