Autism and Pitocin Link?

A.,

Scientists should do research. This is not a suitable, nor reliable forum for that type of knowledge gathering, and can do nothing but spread fear and misinformation. If you want to know about valid autism research, contact Autism Speaks and read about the AGRE program. They have valid, up to date information available for you and the only agenda is finding a cause and new treatment. No scapegoat goats, just trusted, empirical data.

M.

Had pitocin with my second, no ASD. I couldn't find any statistics on how many births were assisted by pitocin.
Both kids had jaundice neither one are autistic.
60% of babies born have jaundice.
It's ridiculous to say there is a connection between jaundice and autism , it's like saying there is a connection between babies born with hair and ADHD.

For almost 30 years EVERY woman was given pitocin during labor in hospitals, and for about 50-60 years most were. Since we're not a society that is 9:10, or even 1:4 autistic... you can toss that one out the window.

My aunt had totally natural births with both of her children... one of whom is severely autistic (never progressed beyond the age of 2), and the other of whom holds a doctorate of pharmacology.

The "link" between autism and vaccines was debunked YEARS ago in the medical community, the fact that it's finally made the news is an untold relief... HOWEVER for the next several years we're all going to hear that 5, 10, 15 different things "cause" autism. We WANT there to be something that causes it, so we can stop it... but it's not that simple. And unscrupulous people take advantage of parents natural fears to make boatloads of money by coming up with new, wild, and completely unproven (or worse, already disproven) theories by which to capitalize on our fears.

Could pitocin theoretically trigger a genetic "switch"? Possibly. But so could strawberries. Or shampoo. Or a stomach flu. We simply don't know enough yet about genetics to be able to pinpoint *contributing* factors. Picking pitocin as that "trigger" makes just as much sense as picking strawberries. Statistically, as well. How many parents of autistic kids ate or fed them strawberries? OMG... MOST of them!!! Therefore it MUST be strawberries! Wait ALL of them used shampoo!!! It's shampoo!!!

It's hard... because as human beings one of the very first words out of our mouths is "Why?" and we never stop asking it... but sometimes why takes one whole heck of a long time to figure out.

I agree with Martha. Leave this to the scientists and question the studies when they do come out. For instance, there was a very flawed study that came out recently saying pesticide exposure causes ADHD. However, ADHD is a genetic condition and they didn't rule out genetic probability in advance, nor was an official ADHD diagnosis necessary for the kids in the study to be labeled as having the condition. Just more confusion and unnecessary fear, which you're likely to get with this type of question you're asking. You can drive yourself crazy trying to think of what is to "blame" for a medical condition. I would turn to the association(s) leading your cause for their analysis of scientific studies and ignore any rumors.

My sister had pitocin for both of her deliveries and both of her kids are gifted and talented no Austism..

My sister in law had all natural and her son has Aspergers

Our daughter had a weeks therapy for Jaundice in NICU and has no Austism and was a National Merit Scholar.

Dear A.,
I asked my husband for you, he is a Peds Neurologist and has been doing cutting edge research in epilepsy his entire career, so he looks at things scientifically. He said that there is no proof of a causative link, only an association... but then there are lots of associations since autism is now about 1 in 100 kids.

What I have had the benefit of learning from his colleagues is that there are many factors that contribute to the cause of autism. Essentially, autism is a multi-faceted issue. What I find interesting is that autism has historically been treated by developmental pediatricians. And epilepsy is treated by neurologists. But more than 40% of children with autism also have epilepsy. That's a significant crossover. If Pharmaceutical companies and scientists could be more collaborative and less competitive, a more effective treatment plan and possibly even a cure could be forthcoming in our lifetime.

My husband has dreamed of bringing developmental neurosciences together ever since I have known him and is doing so now.

Regarding the pitocin survey going on: I have a girlfriend who had pitocin with her twins. The boy has autism. The girl does not.

I had pitocin with both my daughters and they are both fine. Except the oldest one is too much like her father.LOL

I had pitocin for both of my deliveries. I had triplets first and they gave me a small amount to get things moving after removing a cerclage. Then my last one, I got a small amount because contractions were strong and my water broke but I was not dilating enough. I have not heard about this link but all of my kids are very bright and healthy. Even my triplets were very healthy even though I was told to expect a delay for the first few years due to 6 weeks early and the fact that they are triplets. That didn't happen.
I did see the reports about Jaunice and Autism (Danish study) and the refute by American universities regarding the possibility of the degree of jaundice tied to it rather than jaunice itself. One of my older girls was jaundice as my little one.

I had pitocin with all 5 of my children. 4 have no issues, 1 has a severe delay and is being evaluated for autism. We stopped vacinating after my son showed a delay, I praise God we did. Had I continued with his vaccinations who knows how bad he'd be.

I have a child with autism. We stopped vaccinating at the same time I told my ped that my son had autism. There is an immune system issue with autism. I'd search out DAN doctors who have children of their own with autism, this is where the reasearch is being done. And frankly there is no one more motivated to help their child than that childs parent. My DAN doctor has 2 sons on the spectrum. The non-vaccinated one is recovered (which means yes he did have autism), the vaccinated child still has autism. Dr. Bock's Healing the New Childhood Epidemic: Autism, Asthma, ADHD, and Allegies is a good book, Jepson's book someone else mentioned is good as is Jenny's McCarthy's with Dr. Kartzinel.

I DID recieve Pitocin to induce my labor. My son was born a few weeks early 5lb15oz. He's 2.5 yrs old now. Still small, but shows ABSOLUTELY NO SIGNS of ASD of any kind. We've done all vaccinations except MMR and annual flu and H1N1.

A book that's great and has a lot of research-based evidence: Changing the Course of Austim by Brian Jepson

Just FYI- I saw an article on www.msn.com yesterday about a possible link between jaundice treatments and autism. There were two separate, somewhat consistent studies. Of course, not all treated had autism. It was an interesting read. Good luck with your research.

To add, I had two pitocin deliveries and neither have autism. My second and third child had pretty severe jaundice, but we opted for natural treatments so I cannot fully respond to that possible link.

I personally think it is great that more people are trying to find a possible cause. Of course focusing on treatments are great. But, it will really help our future generations and possible prevention if a cause is found.

I had pitocin and no autism.

I suggest doing research supported by very scientific studies. From what little I've read...Research for this study is very difficult. Because pitocin is given incredibly frequently during birth, it's really difficult to find groups that have not been exposed to it. My reading is very limited and I am no scientist! Get your hands on some studies and call some autism groups. They generally have up to date info. Good luck!

I am no doctor or scientist, but have done a great amount of reading in toxicity, nutrition issues, vaccination, etc. Very much against my better judgment I had pitocin and stadol while induced with my son.

He's 21 months old and on track developmentally, completely unvaccinated for now. He hasn't been diagnosed with anything, BUT, my gut says don't put him at risk by exposure to things that can have an effect, as his mother I see how his tolerance levels are and how sensitive he is and exercise my right to protect his health as best as I can,

The induction and drugs used had a powerful effect on me, I was extremely ill for several weeks after giving birth and I think that's why. You can't discredit gut feelings and mother's intuition. Don't drive yourself crazy either, but learn all you can and follow your instincts!

I had pitocin in 99 with my 1st son..and no autism

My first child my water broke 5 weeks early. I was not having contractions so the doctors gave me pitocin. My son now 13 has ADHD, and Aspergers.

I had pitocin with my son and he does have autism. However, I always recevied two rhogam shots while he was still in utero and, at that time, rhogam still had thimerisol in them.

I was induced with pitocin for 5 days before the birth of my son. He was a preemie and had jaundice but does not have autism. Before my son was born, I was told the pitocen would work the 1st day when it didn't, I was told it would definitely work the 2nd day. 5 Days later it WORKED!! Of course I retained fluids and looked like the Michelon Tire Man. My husband and I laugh about it now, I gained 30 pounds in 3 days in the hospital but wasn't allowed to eat. But as my doctor had told me, I moved into the bathroom at home for a week and lost all that weight.

I had pitocin to get labor started since my water broke a few days earlier. The rest of the labor was natural. My son is healthy with no ASD or PDD disorders.

Pitocin induces labor right? I am pretty sure I had that with my 2nd and she has Autism. That is interesting to look into though I have never heard that. I do believe in some environmental causes but I think there is a strong family link.

I had pitocin with both of my deliveries and there is no autism.

My sister was induced with both of her pregnancies and has two healthy children. I don't really think researchers have any idea what causes ASD and grasp for any reason they can find to help give parents an answer that they so desperately seek. Everyone wants to know why but sometimes there is no reason and things just are. They have concluded that vaccines weren't the cause so now they have moved onto something else.

I am very curious if there is a correlation between autism and high doses on Pitocin. Pitocin can be a miracle drug but it is incredibly overused. Hospitals are overusing pitocin to induce and speed up labor.

When used in high dosages Pitocin can cause the contractions to be too strong and deplete oxygen supply to the baby. Women and doctors are inducing labor before the baby is ready to be born. I have three friends with autistic children. All three of their mothers had high levels on Pitocin during labor. One ended with an emergency c-section. It's time women start to demand less interventions and inductions! Of course there are times when interventions are needed to protect the baby. It shouldn't be so the doctor can make it home for dinner and doesn't want to wait out the labor....