Oxygen Starvation

[allsetuk]

my waters broke at 9, my son shot out too at 3 am, i had been left to my own devices at midnight and told i would be checked again at 6am !

if it was not for my wonderful friend who herself had had 4 babies with me, who told the midwifes i was about to drop ...i dont know what i would have done. i was walking around as they said i was too relaxed and could go and use the toilet up the corridor....within seconds he came , and the cord was around his neck ...

he also got pneumonia aged 2 , and his temperature was way up and above 40 for a few days after the local hospital sent me home 3 times one week saying just give him calpol, i went to my doctors twice in one day and my son lay on the floor in the doctors room, they still sent me home, it was only went he went blue and shook and was violently sick and that still they made me drive him to the hospital at one am in the morning and an elderly doctor finally admitted him, and yes it was severe pneumonia. it was an awful experience, i have italian friends who straight away said this caused his asd, i always thought it was genetic.

interesting thread

[hsmum]

Hello,

 

In my experience there is a link between lack of oxygen at birth and Global Learning Difficulties or conditions such as Cerebral Palsy and epilepsy, but not particularly ASD.

[mum23]

Hi,

Now my first child was born with her cord around her neck and in fetal distress, journdiced and she had many gut problems and faler to thrive. She is NT with some mild AS trates. My twin boys were born a little early, 36/7 weeks both very good waits 8lbs ers, twin 1 had to be delivered by forcepts, twin 2 was a footling breach, but both boys had mighty lungs on them, no problems with oxygen deprivation at birth, but twin 2 has clear clinical AS notable to us from babyhood, twin 1 is NT with some minor AS trats like his sister, but had repeted bouts of pnuemona and had to have his T&A out due to obstructive sleep apnea when he was 3. With this in mind I think maybe ASD's are more genetic but have triggers that effect the way in which the ASD might present its self. For example a virus might trigger one gene mutation and oxygen deprivation might trigger another gene mutation, hence the diffrance in presantation within one familiy.

Anna

[oxgirl]

It's fascinating to read everyone's stories.

My labour with J was 40 hours and he was distressed (as was I ) by the end of it! He just wouldn't come out and had to be chopped out in the end. He was very sleepy and we didn't know what colour his eyes were for two weeks because he never opened them, he was either asleep or feeding with his eyes shut! He didn't get the hang of feeding at all and we had to stay in hospital for a week to get him used to it, he would have a couple of sucks and then fall fast asleep and the MWs used to stand there poking and prodding at his face trying to get him to wake up and have a few more, he was just exhausted, poor love. He was also jaundiced and had two lots of antibiotics in the first two weeks of life as he had an eye infection which didn't respond to the meds and so had to have another lot. He was always very loose and floppy. I noticed one day, when he was about six months or so, as I was holding him up above my head, that he was deliberately moving his head aside to avoid eye contact. Everytime I turned him towards me and tried to get eye contact he would turn his head away, even though he was smiling at the same time. I grew cold and the word 'autism' popped straight into my head, I was terrified, but I never told anyone about this.

 

~ Mel ~

[SSK]

M was induced 6 weeks early due my pre eclampcia, he was eventually born by caesarean section after my 12 hour labour, and wasn't breathing so went to scubu. He was however the fattest baby in there at 7lb 14 oz, so dread to thing how big he would have been after another 6 weeks. I do however think his aspergers is genetic, I have certain traits myself, but not as many as his father, who at one point invited lots of strange people into the labour room, to watch them but a foetal monitor on M head, and then was hurt when I got annoyed at lots of people looking at my nether regions.

[dooday24]

reece was a very destressing birth and was grunting wen he was born and spent 4 ours in special care

 

then suffered from serious sleep apneoa for the first 14 months of his life oxygen levels used to drop to 5 or 6 wen they were supposed to be at 92

 

used a cpat and oxygen on and off then had his adenoids removed twice and a tonsil on his second op for good mesure

 

i wrote to his consultant a couple of yrs ago to ask her if she thought all his problems then could of had any long lasting effect but she said no which i cannot understand if a baby is lacking in oxygen eveytime he is asleep how can they definetly dismiss any future problems!!!!

 

love donnaxxxxxxxxxx

[sarahponari]

I wondered this too, a few weeks ago, my daughter has just been diagnosed with ASD and she wasnt breathing when she was born, she started breathing a couple of minutes after the birth, i have AS and i also wasnt breathing when i was born, but it could also be that because i have AS that my daughter has autism

[peppa]

Oooh very interesting thread!

Labour with dd was very quick just under 2 1/2 hours from show to holding in arms. Problem free labour, latched on easily, however suffered chronic reflux.

 

Got tonsilitus at 10wks and had 2 lots of anti b's.

 

18mnth suffered unexplained fit, starved of oxygen, remained unconcious for over 3 hrs, hospitalised for 3 days. Concluded they were involuntary breath holding fits. It was from this age when our concerns slowly began to develop.

 

DD now 4.8 years has suffered regular milder fits since, which are still under investigation.

 

At not quite 3 despite having MMR, dd contracted measles and was very ill, dr said it was something like a 1 in 300,000 chance of her catching it!

 

Looking back through family and my dads aunty was said to be mentally disabled, which now days would probably be diagnosed classic autism and the more i'm learning it seems most likely my nana (dads mum) has aspergers.

 

My cousin from my dads side has a son with AS and multiple other disabilities.

 

My neice is currently under assessment for suspected ASD.

 

On dd's dads side, his nephew is suspected ADHD and AS.

 

Genetics seems to play a big part within our family, but who knows.