Do you think that you had stress during pregnancy with your autistic child - Autism Spectrum Message Board

Sashaa · 01-08-2007, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sallzyx

Thanks for your replies. Yes, I am definitely going over what I could've done wrong.

I guess I will get over it now.

Just to respond to Mom23angels, I ate really healthy. I followed the Bradley diet to a T, so I don't think eating a bunch of junk food had anything to do with it.

I was induced with pitocin only, but the birth was not traumatic for the baby whatsoever, as far as I know. He was suctioned out at the end because he was extremely large for my body, though. The only other drug I had was something for my bloodpressure.

Hi there,

I was diagnosed with mild Hypertyroidism last year . I have been on homeopathic medications. My TSH was normal 3 months . So my OBG adviced me to try for a baby. I am trying to concieve....but my periods are going crazy . They are very long and irregular. I wonder if i'll ever get pregnant at all. I am goin crazy !! Please help.
Thanks in advance for your suggestions .

Sashaa

JoJoLEE · 01-08-2007, 01:11 PM

I was stressed but who's not. Being pregnant isn't taken lightly by many things. Such as medications, foods, and procedures.

Rumor : I have heard that if you have eaten can tuna fish(which has a lot of mercury in it) can affect the mother and baby. Just never eat tuna unless you never plan on having babies. Where does Autism come from? Thats my question?

Sashaa,
Sorry to hear you are having trouble having a baby. Its nothing we can plan. Try to relax and then it will happen. Maybe you should try checking your cervix every morning. When you ovulate your cervix will open and sometimes it can open as well right before your period. Check every morning at the same time. Maybe you will be able to chart when you ovulate. OR you can take your temperature. I know of some friends who get pregnant that way. Hope that helps. Good luck.

Ms-Trixi · 01-08-2007, 06:15 PM

With my first (autistic) son I did have some stress. With my second (non-autistic) son, I had major stress and a nervous breakdown (that is when I found out that my first son was autistic). I was hospitalized in the county mental hospital with severe anxiety and depression. Was taken away in a police car and held for evaluation- it was very, very bad. I was unable to stop crying or eat.
I read on the internet that stress during the 6th month (when I had my nervous breakdown) caused autism- which stressed me out even more.
So, the child that I had the most stress with, did not turn out autistic. Therefore, from my expereince, I don't believe the stress/autism connection.
Hope that helps,
Linda

iyami · 01-09-2007, 01:37 AM

im kind of a science nerd, so bascially

what ive gathered, and i no expert just your average little nerd

that stuff baout pregnancy stress causing autism, its just a myth. ive actually read that its all bull, form a number of sources, so im not th eonly one who thinks so

infact it has Nothing to do with your pregancy, most of the time, if not never.

its all about genetics
traits passed down form one child to another, immune system problems, that sort of thing.

for exammple, my dad has autistic social habbits, but otehrwise is a well-verbalised left-brained genious, my mom, while also a genious and is very social, is totally right brained, no sense of direction, phsycial clumsiness, verbal problems with volume and enphasising, talks Alot, and both parents are obsessive compulsive.

so combining select traits inherited genetically (and maybe habitually) from my parents, out come me, aspergersly-autistic-girl.

thats how it Really works. from what i have read and seen.

basically, theres nothing you could have possibley done wrong, and maybe your child Likes being different and feels special for it, either way its nothing to be mad at yourself over.

Laenini · 01-09-2007, 04:53 AM

When I was 5 months pregnant with my 18 year old son who has Asperger's his father and I divorced. It was an ugly, messy, dangerous divorce as my ex had mental health problems that had emerged during our marriage and he was psychotic and dangerous. He repeated told me that he'd kill me if I ever tried to divorce him. I was terrified of this man and chose to tell him over the phone while he was locked up in the psychiatric ward of a local hospital that I was filing for divorce. I felt it was the safest way for me to tell him, after all he was locked up and 10 miles away from where I was at my parent's house at the time. He escaped from the locked psych ward and burst through the door at my parents house within 20 minutes of the conversation!!! He headed straight for my Dad's rifle (he knew exactly where my Dad kept it hidden). Luckily, I got a call through to 911 before he had time to put the rifle together, and he ran off and got away as he heard the sirens approach. The police did not catch him that night and he was on the loose and after me for 2 months before he finally got caught and thrown in jail. I took our 3 year old daughter and my very pregnant self and had to go into hiding during that time, yet I still maintained my full-time job and part-time evening college classes. So yes, I would say that I was under extreme stress during that pregnancy!

Going forward 9 years in time, I got married again during my last year of a doctoral program. I literally got pregnant on my wedding night and so I was finishing up that difficult degree, starting a new marriage, and dealing with my difficult Asperger's son during that pregnancy. So I was also under a great deal of stress during that pregnancy too, and that child is severely autistic.

Honestly though, I have no clue if my stress affected these children or not. But I have heard the theory before and it does seem to add up for my situation. I really think there are other explanations though and I'm concerned that the whole "mom being too stressed" theory is a thinly veiled attempt to blame the mom like the old "refrigerator mother" theory.