Poll for MOTHERS of AS children

Post Reply New Topic

I'd really like to hear only from the moms, since they are really the only ones who really know about their emotional states during pregnancy.

Just want to test a theory, because I was frequently fighting with my husband during the pregnancy and was very frightened that we were going to divorce. We would get into fights where I would be shaking, crying, etc.

I felt physical symptoms of stress, which I also had while I was a teenager and my father became extremely ill, so I know they were stress related. I know in a lot of cultures, they say that that kind of emotional state is not good for the baby. I remember thinking, "What could possible happen if I AM completely stressed out?"

Now my child has these symptoms, and I guess I keep looking back to my pregnancy and thinking, oh, maybe that is what could happen. So I have to do this poll, if for nothing else, at least to just get it off my chest so I can move on.
TIA

in addition to being under tremendous amounts of stress during my pregnancy, i also suffered from morning sickness for the entire 9 months...son was breech, and the dr did an external version ( personally, i always wondered if the version had any effect on son)

yeah, i was in the middle of an extremely ugly divorce, where i was physically in danger from time to time. i was always on alert, and rarely able to relax. was in hiding for a few months, at one point.

i also had extreme morning sickness - i'd be sick about every 45 minutes round the clock. went from weighing 170 to weighing about 145, then gained it back when the morning-sick period ended. would even throw water up. wasn't fun at all.

i've always wondered what effect all the cortisol had on my kid.

Is cortisol a stress hormone? I just read that it causes deterioration of neurons in the brain.

I was happy and under no stress during my pregnancy. I did have morning sickness the first three months, but it wasnt as bad as when I was pregnant with my NT.

I know they asked me this at both evals. my oldest had. I had alot of stress my first pregnancy, to the point I had anxiety attacks. I know in her way my MIL meant well, but she can stress out ANYONE. And being AS myself (i know now) it certainly didn't help.

I also had a new job and new home in the 6 or 8 wks before I conceived. So yeah. Alot going on.

I found out I was adopted the week after I found out I was pregnant. I was 31.

Also, we had moved to an apartment in Oct, baby was born in Dec, I was sick constantly, we finally moved in June (abandoned the lease) when after spending a week with friends I got better. Moving stuff out the carpet pulled up accidentally and we found huge areas of black mold under the carpeting in our bedroom.

I was also under tons of stress with my first baby (baaad marriage, physically abused) and she is b/p and suffers attachment disorder.

My middle pregnancy was a walk in the park. He has terminal kidney disease.

You can't win.

Yes I was sick constantly, had to give up the job I loved and was stressed beyond belief for a variety of reasonable reasons.

Yes, I was under a lot of emotion duress and I had a severe case of morning sickness (throwing up 7-15x daily) from 12 weeks until I delivered him early at 33.5 weeks.

I had a fabulous pregnancy. I LOVED being pregnant!! ! In fact, I didn't know I was pregnant until well into my third month. I had always had weird menstrual cycles, so it never even occurred to me that I might be pregnant. No sickness at all. Had hypertension near the end, but not too serious. Now, the delivery was a completely different story. Water broke three weeks early, but no contractions. Was put on Pitocin which is an evil drug! J started to have fetal distress, so I had to have an emergency C-Section. Boy was that a crazy mess! We all came through it alright in the end though.

my first child was being dianosed as autistic when i was pregnant with my second child. i was told it was a million to one i would have another autistic child. .so much for the so called experts! i was also told i should morne the child i should of had and give up all hopes and dreams for my children because they where autistic. this was devasating to me because all i ever wanted were health happy kids and i was told that they didnt have a chance, wtf. the only experts on asd kids are their parents.i say to my self and my children that " i ts only asd" . they laugh and cry and feel everything they are healthy. they regaularly make loud commments in wrong places and what is NT worth anyway.

I was 17 y/o....must I day more?

My second pregnamcy was wonderfull and I had a beautifull intelligent, artistic wonderfull son as a result of it. When he was 5 and went to school, his teacher alerted me, there was something not right with him and in 2 years I saw my child change into a tense, sad little boy. I always felt very guilty, untill he was 11 and we were finally sent to a pediatrician, who specialised in autistic disorders. He told me my sons condition had nothing to do with me, but that he was born the way he was, he likened it to a very complex computer with one faulty connection in the system. That made me feel lots better. My third pregnancy wasn't so peacefull, as the child was not wanted by his father. He had lots of trouble, didn't have autism according to the "experts", but was diagnosed with PDD-nos, when he was 18! So much for the experts, who thought I was wrong, when I told them, I thought my second son had more traits of autism, then my first one. Why don't they listen to parents?

So true Dottie,

I've banged on doors and phones (ok, not literally) screaming for help (only to be totally ignored).

When the headmistress of my son's school calls the same people a year later they send an appointment within the week and send a team into the school.

I am obviously a total idiot and not to be listened to.

You do have to fight for your child, with the teacher, who dubbed him stupid and lazy, with people who think, he's weird for wanting to play on his own a lot. I was lucky, that after 2 years of struggling with the same 1rst grade teacher I was advised by a friend of a friend, who was a special eds teacher to enroll him in a school for special education (In the Netherlands we have special schools for special needs children), where I found a warm and supportive ear for his problems and where he could start 3 weeks after enrolling! My son went from the primary school to the highschool and finished that. He is 23 now, an apprentice butcher, has a girlfriend and is a wonderfull man. I'm so proud of him and of the way he handled his problems.

I was very stressed out during my pregnancy for my AS son. I felt extremely fatigued, nauseated and fought constantly with my husband who has his own personality and biological problems. We see both of us in our son. Of course, all of the good traits are from me, the bad ones from his father!