Tag Archives: pregnancy
Birth and Autism
As you know, it is not known exactly what causes a child to develop an autism spectrum disorders and many doctors and scientists, myself included, believe that autism is a multi-factorial disorder, meaning that it can be caused by a number of different factors or a combination of factors. These factors can include environmental factors, genetics, vaccines, food intolerances and pregnancy and birth complications.
Today, I’m going to examine evidence that points to autism spectrum disorders being caused by complications at birth. In their book ” A Parent’s Guide to Asperger Syndrome and High-functioning Autism”, Sally Ozonoff, Geraldine Dawson and James McPartland talk about the link between complications in pregnancy, labor and birth, and autism spectrum disorders, saying that:
“A number of pregnancy, labor and delivery complications have been noted in the histories of children who later turn out to have autism spectrum disorders, such as maternal bleeding during pregnancy, high blood pressure in the mother leading to toxemia, prematurity, and oxygen deprivation during or shortly after birth.”
However, Ozonoff, Dawson and Mc Partland point out that these complications are also found in the birth histories of children with mental retardation, cerebral palsy, speech and language difficulties, and learning disabilities, so they wonder if actually these birth complications cause differences in the brain, rather than autism specifically, or whether actually it is the autism that causes the birth complications.
You might think that it is very strange to believe that it is the autism that causes the pregnancy and birth complications, rather than the other way round, but Ozonoff et al. point out that in the case of Down Syndrome (a disorder that is determined at conception), mothers of babies with Down Syndrome have a higher than average rate of experiencing pregnancy and delivery complications – interesting!
Studies into Birth
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Ultrasounds and Autism
Ultrasounds are something that we all take for granted in modern day pregnancies and they are a vital diagnostic tool used by obstetricians, midwives and health professionals all over the world.
What are Ultrasounds?
Ultrasounds, also known as obstetric sonograms, obstetric sonographies and pregnancy sonograms, are imaging tests that use soundwaves to form a picture of the developing fetus in the womb, and also the placenta. The ultrasound scanner produces high frequency soundwaves which pass through the body and bounce back off bones and tissue, forming an image of the fetus which is then available on the scanner screen.
There are seven main types of ultrasound scan: transvaginal scan, standard ultrasound, advanced ultrasound, Doppler ultrasound, 3D ultrasound, 4 D ultrasound (or 3D Dynamic ultrasound) and Fetal Echocardiography. Although these ultrasounds are slightly different and look at different things, they all use the same technology.
There is no recommended number of ultrasounds in pregnancy and the number of ultrasounds a woman will be offered depends on her circumstances, her healthcare provider and whether there are any concerns regarding the pregnancy.
Ultrasounds in the first trimester are used to confirm whether the pregnancy is viable, to give a due date, to confirm heartbeat and also assess whether the pregnancy is ectopic. In the second trimester, ultrasounds can be used to diagnose any abnormalities or malformation of the fetus, to check on growth and development, assess whether it is a multiple pregnancy, confirm the death of the fetus where this is suspected, and identify problems such as excessive or reduced levels of amniotic fluid. In the third trimester, ultrasounds can be used to find out the location of the placenta, confirm death of the fetus if it is suspected, to check on the growth and development of the baby, to confirm presentation of …
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