Asperger's and Cesareans...

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Wow! Very cool. What kind of horses did he have?

Unfortunately, I didn't spend any time with him as a kid, but I understand he had Scandinavian coldblood trotters. I found out about him as an adult and always wondered if my love for horses was somewhat... inherited.

Nope, I was born a week later than my expected due date and I came naturally through the birth canal. Same with my brother (he was born 2 days after his expected due date).
But we are both on the spectrum.

I think you are misunderstanding. The research I found is about how long the baby stays in the vagina during birth, not how long the baby is in the womb.

I was an emergency c-section and a month premature.

My mother said that she was awake and unmedicated through the entire labour, and the moment she started to push they knocked her out with drugs. She woke up with a baby. I wonder if that means she pushed for a long time (drugged) or if the contractions were really fast. I'll try to get more info about how long I was "there".

Another piece of the Aspie/autism puzzle is trauma during the birth process. One form of trauma stands out; that of asphyxiation. Birth asphyxia occurs when a baby doesn't receive enough oxygen before, during or just after birth. There are many reasons that birth asphyxia may occur.

Some of the causes of decreased oxygen before or during the birth process may include:
* Inadequate oxygen levels in the mother's blood due to heart or respiratory problems or lowered respirations caused by anesthesia.
* Low blood pressure in the mother.
* Inadequate relaxation of the uterus during labor that prevents oxygen circulation to the placenta.
* Early separation of the placenta from the uterus, called placental abruption.
* Compression of the umbilical cord that decreases blood flow.
* Poor placenta function that may occur with high blood pressure or in post-term pregnancies, particularly those past 42 weeks.

Perinatal asphyxia results from compromised placental or pulmonary gas exchange. This disorder can lead to hypoxia (lack of oxygen) and hypercarbia (increased carbon dioxide levels) in the blood. Severe hypoxia results in anaerobic glycolysis and lactic acid production first in the peripheral tissues (muscle and heart) and then in the brain. Ischemia (lack of sufficient blood flow to all or part of an organ) is both a cause and a result of hypoxia. Hypoxia and acidosis can depress myocardial function, leading to hypotension and ischemia. Ischemia can impair oxygen delivery, causing further compromise, as well as disrupt delivery of substrate and removal of metabolic and respiratory by-products (e.g., lactic acid, carbon dioxide).

Asphyxia can occur before, during, or after birth. Based on a review of multiple studies that have examined the temporal relationship between obstetric events and neonatal outcomes, predominantly hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy in term infants, the proportion of conditions that occurs in each time period can be estimated.

Antepartum events (occurring not long before childbirth), such as maternal hypotension or trauma, account for 4 to 20 percent of cases. Intrapartum events (occurring in the time period spanning childbirth, from the onset of labor through delivery of the placenta), such as placental abruption or umbilical cord prolapse [such as a pinched umbilical cord during delivery], are seen in 56 to 80 percent. Evidence of intrapartum disturbance (e.g., meconium-stained amniotic fluid or severe fetal heart rate abnormalities) occurs in 10 to 35 percent, usually in association with an antenatal risk factor, such as diabetes mellitus, preeclampsia, or intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). In approximately 10 percent of cases, a postnatal insult occurs, usually caused by severe cardiopulmonary abnormalities or associated with prematurity.

Neonatal encephalopathy following perinatal asphyxia is considered an important cause of later neurodevelopmental impairment in infants born at term. A few studies suggest:
* Elevated rates of hyperactivity in children with moderate neonatal encephalopathy.
* Autism in children with moderate and severe neonatal encephalopathy.

I was born naturally. However, my mom had a lot of complications during her pregnancy and childbirth. She was 36 when I was born (my father was almost 40) and developed gestational diabetes during her pregnancy among other issues. I was born pretty much on time, only a few days earlier than her expected due date. According to my father, she was also in labor for a longer period of time than average as well. She became ill after I was born but recovered within a few days. We both were in intensive care and my mom wasn't allowed to have contact with me during her illness. My mother believes that her age giving birth was a factor in me being Autistic.