Connection between Autism and drugs during labour?

[Maisie]

Has anyone read this article before? Link

I didn''t have any drugs to induce my labour and I didn''t have pain relief either. James has autistic behaviours as most of you know. So in our case there isn''t a connection. I just wondered what my fellow PS''ers think. According to this article there does seem to be something worth investigating.

I have to say I don''t do a lot of research. I''m not the type to read everything about a condition. I was sent this to read after speaking with Whitby about James'' difficulties and how they seem to be getting worse.

 

[MonkeyPie]

If that was the case, every c-section baby would have autism. Just saying

They are reaching really hard trying to find a reason for autism like they can find reasons for Downs. I think it''s a waste of time - sometimes stuff just happens and no, we can''t always fix it.

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Was that article put out by midwives?

The data did not convince me. They did not have controls for the numbers they quoted. For example the article stated that 60% of all autistic children were born to mothers who received pitocin, but that number means nothing without the comparison. Which is how many non-austic children are born to mother's who receive pitocin?

And than the article went on to suggest ANY of the drugs that the mother received could cause autism. It almost seemed like it was trying to scare people into having natural births.

I don't think a single cause to autism will be found. I think the symptoms of autism are the final manifestation to a wide variety of etiologies, most of which will be a mix of genetic predisposition and environmental exposure/interaction in the early years.

In the end, what this does is put blame on the mother's for choosing to have pain control, they already have enough to deal with and do not need to be blamed. It is like the early theories of the "refrigerator parents." The theory stated that autistic kids tended to have parents who were very intellectual and cold. It stated that their inability to show warmth and love to their children caused their children to be autistic.

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

I try not to make judgements without reading the actual studies and I did not see a listing for the peer reviewed study, so that really makes me pause.

They do know what causes Down's syndrome, it is a partial 23rd chromosome, they do not know why some babies get it though, but that puts it much ahead of autism.

I suspect autism is much like cancer. It is not one disorder, with one cause, but rather a collection of disorders that have certain similiarities and are not well understood so they are lumped together.

The thing that bothers me about most autism theories is that they do not account for the MUCH higher diagnosis in boys than girls, on the order of 5 to 1 as I recall. Anything like a C section or vaccines do not explain that level of difference as they tend to be fairly even by sex. It makes me wonder if there is an X linked genetic component, which is usually the cause in such cases, but they have yet to find anything that suggests that and they have certainly been looking. Because of the difference, a British doctor, Simon Baron-Cohen (cousin to the comedian) has an interesting theory about autism as being a hyper masculine brain. His work has found some corralations between testosterone and autistic behaviors and he argues that many of the characteristics of autism are actually just extremes of what males tend to test higher in among "normal" individuals. His work is compelling and unlike another British doctor on autism, he does realy studies and does not claim to hold the unquestionable key, just that he is on to something.

Maisie, Baron-Cohen has come up with a learning program based on his research that has really helped some kids, you might see if you can get a hold of the materials.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

That makes no sense.

 

[february2003bride]

That''s ridiculous. Most children start showing their autistic traits after their first birthday. If it was due to pitocin, pain relief during labor, or c-sections why would it wait until 12-18 months to show itself? As of today there is no explaination as to what causes autism and studies like this cause more confusion, alarm, and guilt than they do help. Children are diagnosed more today than 30 years ago because we have the diagnosing tools and the label to give these children. 30 years ago, they were labeled "different" or "special". Today we are hypervigiliant in Aspergers/LD/special needs children and recognize the symptoms much faster than decades ago. I don''t know if doctors will ever be able to pinpoint exactly what causes autism but I firmly believe it is not ONE thing. If it was one thing, autism would not be a SPECTRUM disorder. I personally HATE studies like this.

 

[neatfreak]

IMO it is another scare tactic "study". I see nothing from a cursory reading that makes me believe it one bit.

 

[Upgradable]

Date: 5/25/2010 9:23:24 PM
Author: brazen_irish_hussy
I try not to make judgements without reading the actual studies and I did not see a listing for the peer reviewed study, so that really makes me pause.

They do know what causes Down's syndrome, it is a partial 23rd chromosome, they do not know why some babies get it though, but that puts it much ahead of autism.

I suspect autism is much like cancer. It is not one disorder, with one cause, but rather a collection of disorders that have certain similiarities and are not well understood so they are lumped together.

The thing that bothers me about most autism theories is that they do not account for the MUCH higher diagnosis in boys than girls, on the order of 5 to 1 as I recall. Anything like a C section or vaccines do not explain that level of difference as they tend to be fairly even by sex. It makes me wonder if there is an X linked genetic component, which is usually the cause in such cases, but they have yet to find anything that suggests that and they have certainly been looking. Because of the difference, a British doctor, Simon Baron-Cohen (cousin to the comedian) has an interesting theory about autism as being a hyper masculine brain. His work has found some corralations between testosterone and autistic behaviors and he argues that many of the characteristics of autism are actually just extremes of what males tend to test higher in among 'normal' individuals. His work is compelling and unlike another British doctor on autism, he does realy studies and does not claim to hold the unquestionable key, just that he is on to something.

Maisie, Baron-Cohen has come up with a learning program based on his research that has really helped some kids, you might see if you can get a hold of the materials.

It is actually a third copy of the 21st chromosome, also called Trisomy 21. Humans have 2 copies of each of the 22 chromosomes plus a 23nd set of either XX or XY. During either the production of sperm or the first duplication of chromosomes in the fertilized egg, the 21st pair does not split and so an extra ends up in the gamete. The 21st is the smallest of all the chromosomes (with the exception of the Y) so the presence of a 47th chromosome when the human organism is designed to have 46 isn't enough to cause an inviable fetus. The resultant individual is born with the disorder known as Down syndrome.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Uppy I''m in awe of your knowledge!

 

[Upgradable]

 

[PumpkinPie]

I wouldn''t put too much faith in this study yet - they''ve been arguing connections between autism and various factors for years with no definitive answers (besides that it is likely nothing to do with vaccinations)

 

[Jas12]

It''s silly, most kids in the US are born to moms who had pitocin at some stage in their labor.
I understand the temptation to try to find causes, it''s a serious problem and we should look for answers, but printing premature findings like these just make moms feel bad/guilty/conflicted.

Ltlfircracker--i''d be surprised if this were put out by midwives (unless it was a group of extreme far leftist middies) most midwives support a choice in labor. My own midwife told me she opted for the epi!