ADD & DIFFICULT BIRTH

[LuvMyLilDoggie]

I'm really curious how many mom's had a difficult birth with their ADD/ADHD and LD children?
Tell me your story.
Barb

[rasiaca]

Hi!
Well I have also wondered about this idea...
My son's birth was normal in and of itself, however I did have Demerol. ...After birth they discovered he had low platlets (clot blood, heal wounds, etc) and was to be treated like glass. The delivery caused a web of little bruises around his torso, not sure what trauma his head may have undergone. He ended up requiring a platlet transfusion, nursing failed due to his IV fluids, and was put on formula.
He also had a seizure (turned blue and limp) due to a fever that fluctuated up and down from Tylenol when he was around 6 months.
...and a number of ear infections when he was a small child, leading to CAPD.
...if you are suggesting there may be a link to ADD from early trauma, I agree.
My friends' son contracted cat scratch fever, and developed severe ADHD from the encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) upon recovery. He is now on Ritalin, which helps him a lot.
Any disorder/disease, is just an extreme version of what is normal. I think there are people that fit in the normal category of ADD, or rather the 'ADD personality-type', and I think there are times when it's more extreme than that. I think people who feel it's just a personality-type, may be in part convinced by ADD like 'personalities'.
I think the 'over-diagnoses' of ADD are a result of the marked increase in medical intervention 'successes'. I know that my son, nor my friends son, would have died otherwise. I also think that another reason for over-diagnoses may be due to 'ADD personalities', getting diagnosed, when they may still be in the acceptable range. I think everyone has these symptoms from time to time, and that's what leads to all the controversy of wether it's real or not.
So yes, I think it can be aquired from early trauma, maybe as well from conception trauma, who knows? ...and from the standard genetic theory as well.
Anna.

[Connor5]

My son's birth was very difficult. He was stuck in the birth canal for 2 hours. When he came out..he was purple, the cord wrapped around his neck 3 times. They gave him oxygen and he pinked up. But, I have always worried that the loss of oxygen is the cause of all his problems. Not only does he have ADD(inattenive) but he has anxiety and social problems. He is very introverted and shy. He stuggles in school.

[LuvMyLilDoggie]

Thanks for your reply.
My story goes like this.
My due date orriginally was November 7th, 1988 (my brother's birthday). My doctor ordered an ultrasound in September because the baby seemed so big. The ultrasound estimated the due date as October 17th. My son was born November 24th, Thanksgiving Day.
The last month of my pregnancy was really tough. By this time, I was seeing both my regular doc and an OB specialist. I had no idea why but my doc told me it would be a good idea to have this doc too. So I agreed.
The last month of my pregancy, my OB had me seeing him every week. Two weeks later, he had me going to the hospital every other day for a stress test for the baby. I still had no idea why. I thought all this was normal so I went with it. Every test that was run, I was told by my OB that everything was fine. But my regular doc told me I might have to have a c-section due to the baby's size.
I had an appointment with my OB at 9am Nov. 23rd. He stuck his hand up in me and broke the plug. I screamed so bad my husband screamed out of sympathy! That started my labor. To this day, I still don't know when my water broke.
We went home and waited for contractions. They started soon after. The contractions started as more of a cramp. Not bad. I went all day and all that night with the contactions coming closer and hurting more. We went next door to my mother-in-law's house where Thanksgiving dinner was being cooked. This was about 8am. I sat there maybe 10 or 15 minutes. I was feeling so bad I told them I was going home to lay down. My husband stayed there. About 10 munutes later, I called my husband and told him it was time. He turned to his mother and told her what I said. She actually asked if I could wait till after dinner! Now, I was in labor for 24 hours already. So I told him to ask his mother, the mother of 6, to think about what she was asking. Our car was in the shop so we had to use his mom's car to go to the hospital.
We went to the hospital. Both my doctors were there. They did another stress test on the baby and determined that he was DEFINITELY in distress. His oxygen level dropped significately with every contraction. 26 hours after my dry labor started, they began the c-section. My son was born at 1:50pm with the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck twice.
All these years, I have wondered if his brain was affected by this and that's why he's ADD/LD. Or was it just a coincidence?
BTW, my boy was 11lbs,6ozs. and two feet long. But his head was so big, it made his body look small! It would have killed me or ripped me up if I had natural! lol
Barb

[LuvMyLilDoggie]

connor5, My son is ADD inattentive too as well as learning disabled (math and writing). Reasding he's great in. He's not really shy. He'll talk when there's people around. But he does prefer to be alone a lot.
Thank you so much for your response.
Barb