Autism

dont be afraid of it.its mainly related to genetics & to some extent on environmental factors.take healthy diet & be free from diseases during pregnancy

I too was really worried about all sorts of possibilities with my kiddos and I was really worried because I was a little older and I was having a son (autism being more prevalent in boys...) I made a list of all the worries and then then made a "Plan B" in case one of them did happen. For example, for autism I researched what to look for and then all possible therapies and any providers near my home. I felt more in control and stopped worrying so much.

Are you saying that a child with Autism isn't beautiful or intelligent? Do you think a child that is not Autistic is any better then an Autistic child?

Kids with autism are very intelligent and beautiful! So either way, it doesn't matter. There is no such thing as "normal" these days. Don't worry to much. I have a son who is autistic and he is 20 mos. He is the world. No complaints here.

Before my six year old son was diagnosed with autism, I really didn't know much about it. When he got his diagnosis, I researched and learned all I could about autism. Autism isn't such a bad word as most people think. It can be managed with patience and therapies for your child/children. Children with autism are special, they learn on their own pace and are intelligent in their own way. Don't worry yourself now about autism. Take care of yourself to have a healthly baby. As your baby meets his/her milestones you will notice abnormal activity. If you have concerns then, speakn with your child's doctor about having testing done. The sooner autism is diagnoised, the better because the earlier the children get therapies to help them, the better.

There are different theories out there about autism. Vaccines, our diets, the antibiotic and growth hormone use in cattle for food, birth traumas (cord compression, prolapsed cord, breech births that lead to oxygen deprivation), environmental pollution ... I think it's a combination of environmental factors myself of all of the above and the sensitivity of each individual to those factors. Take for instance my daughter who was a frank breech, prolapse cord and cord compression with oxygen deprivation for almost 1.5 hrs. Very traumatic birth that ended in an emergency c-section and the discovery of a uterine rupture (I have reactive bi-corneated uterus - basically two chambers in the uterus instead of one that both can carry a pregnancy, one to term, one that is smaller in size and causes pre term labor and delivery). It's not just one thing or a bunch of things. It's a set of environmental factors and how the individual reacts or doesn't react physically to those factors.

I have a child who falls under the "autism umbrella" and has Asperger's Syndrome. I must admit that when my life began to revolve around autism I wondered almost the same thing. There are so many views out there that you can get lost in them. I was given I'm sure 20 different reasons why I had an autistic child and it definately became confusing. One thing I might say is that doctors did not have all the information in the past to properly diagnose kids. One of my first doctors was an older man who was old school and had no clue what to diagnose my child with. He got the boot! Thankfully once he was hospitalized he was quickly diagnosed. So please don't worry so much. Do all the things you need to do to have a healthy child and I'm sure you'll be fine. One thing I want to add though....is autism or not I have a beautiful intelligent child!