IOWA CITY, Iowa (CBS2/Fox28) -- A Danish study reporter in Pediatrics suggests there may be some connection between mothers who had the flu while pregnant and the chances of her child developing autism.

The study found that children had double the risk of developing autism before the age of 3 if their mother got the flu while pregnant; that risk tripled if the mother had a fever for more than a week. The study states that the findings may have resulted by chance, and are still inconclusive.
The study has gotten the attention of many expecting mothers, who know how important staying healthy can be for their unborn baby. "I do everything that I can, not to get sick. I wash my hands a lot, I use hand sanitizer, I got the flu shot," Yelba Castellon-Lopez said.

Autism researchers at the University of Iowa say parents should not be alarmed by the study. "You can't over-interpret those kinds of results or that aspect of this reporting. What we wouldn't want is for mothers who get a fever during pregnancy to start worrying excessively," Co-director of the U of I Children's Hospital Autism Center Thomas Wassink said.

The Danish study admits that the finders are limited, Wassink said. "It found some subtle associations, but because they looked at so many different combinations it's hard to tell if what they found real or just due to chance," Wassink said.