In the most recent issue of International Doula (Volume 18, Issue 2), there is an article suggesting just that there could be a link between autism disorders and Pitocin induced births. Pitocin is a synthetic drug that is administered intravenously (IV) that mimics Oxytocin, a natural hormone in your body which works alongside other hormones to start labor and give birth. Pitocin is administered on a regular (almost routine) basis to laboring women in United States hospitals. Pitocin can be given to start or speed up labor and after birth to help the uterus contract back to normal size. What most people don't know, Pitocin is made from the pituitary glands of cattle. Yes, cattle, as in the 500+ pound creature that births a calf that weighs approximately 7-10 times the weight of our newborns. Ponder that while I tell you a little about the autism rates.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has reported that in 1980 one in 5,000 children were diagnosed with autism disorder. In 1990 one in 1,000 children received this diagnosis. By 2000 one in 500 children and in the present, one in 110 children are diagnosed with autism. One in 110 children in 2010! That's one child every 20 minutes being diagnosed with autism. The scary part for our household, the rate is one in 70 for boys. Autism is currently the number one childhood disorder in the United States.
Do I have your attention yet? I hope so because what I'm about to tell you is even more startling and eye opening.
"... virtually 100% of medically managed births are subjected to a high level of pharmaceutical interventions that have never been approved for use in fetuses."
You can read the rest of that letter from the American College of Domiciliary Midwives and the California College of Midwives practically begging researchers to look into the pitocin/autism link at: http://www.autismtoday.com/articles/ATTN_Reseachers.htm
The midwifery colleges aren't the only ones to see the connection. In the January 2010 issue of Newsweek there was an article about a doctor, Dr. Hollander who is researching 58,000 children. Each mother's maternity care is being monitored. He is hoping to find the link between genetics, environmental factors and autism. Dr. Hollander has noted in his research that at least 60% of his patients with autism had pitocin induced births. That my friends, would be considered the "majority".
I don't really know what to think about this. Please don't hate me but... up until the last 6 months or so, I strongly believed that autism was being over-diagnosed or misdiagnosed, a lot like Attention Deficit Disorder (A.D.D.) was when we were children. Ritalin (the medication to manage A.D.D.) was passed out to children like candy. Every hyper or ill-mannered child seemed to be diagnosed with A.D.D., is that what's happening now? Or, is something that we're doing, eating, or taking causing a rapid "outbreak" of the autism disorder? I still don't know what I think.
The only thing that I can make out of this study and these two articles is that 60% is decent number. Decent enough that I think government officials, the CDC, and the FDA should be stepping in to research Pitocin. Not just Pitocin but every drug that has not been tested on fetuses and is given to mothers during labor!
What do YOU think?
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has reported that in 1980 one in 5,000 children were diagnosed with autism disorder. In 1990 one in 1,000 children received this diagnosis. By 2000 one in 500 children and in the present, one in 110 children are diagnosed with autism. One in 110 children in 2010! That's one child every 20 minutes being diagnosed with autism. The scary part for our household, the rate is one in 70 for boys. Autism is currently the number one childhood disorder in the United States.
Do I have your attention yet? I hope so because what I'm about to tell you is even more startling and eye opening.
"... virtually 100% of medically managed births are subjected to a high level of pharmaceutical interventions that have never been approved for use in fetuses."
You can read the rest of that letter from the American College of Domiciliary Midwives and the California College of Midwives practically begging researchers to look into the pitocin/autism link at: http://www.autismtoday.com/articles/ATTN_Reseachers.htm
The midwifery colleges aren't the only ones to see the connection. In the January 2010 issue of Newsweek there was an article about a doctor, Dr. Hollander who is researching 58,000 children. Each mother's maternity care is being monitored. He is hoping to find the link between genetics, environmental factors and autism. Dr. Hollander has noted in his research that at least 60% of his patients with autism had pitocin induced births. That my friends, would be considered the "majority".
I don't really know what to think about this. Please don't hate me but... up until the last 6 months or so, I strongly believed that autism was being over-diagnosed or misdiagnosed, a lot like Attention Deficit Disorder (A.D.D.) was when we were children. Ritalin (the medication to manage A.D.D.) was passed out to children like candy. Every hyper or ill-mannered child seemed to be diagnosed with A.D.D., is that what's happening now? Or, is something that we're doing, eating, or taking causing a rapid "outbreak" of the autism disorder? I still don't know what I think.
The only thing that I can make out of this study and these two articles is that 60% is decent number. Decent enough that I think government officials, the CDC, and the FDA should be stepping in to research Pitocin. Not just Pitocin but every drug that has not been tested on fetuses and is given to mothers during labor!
What do YOU think?
5 comments:
Well...as a mom whose labor with both children was started via pitocin, I can tell you that I'm staunchly opposed to the whole thing. Not only does the use of pitocin, in my opinion, increase the risk of complication in the birth, but it also increases your need for a c-section...or the unnecessary need, or whatever you want to call it. With my first, I felt like I had no other option because I trusted my doctor and while we delivered vaginally, it almost didn't happen that way. With the second...I felt I didn't have a choice because the dr. felt it necessary due to what she perceived to be complications. *Sigh* Needless to say, I'm pissed that I was ever made to have that crap injected in my veins and the next go round, if ever there is a next go round, I'll be visiting a midwife.
How did I miss this post? Anyway, I hope it's just fuzzy math because my poor baby was swimming in the pitocin after a failed induction at 41 weeks and a successful one at 42 weeks. I had the option to go for a c-section after the first failed induction, but we wanted to still give her some time to come on her own. But I wonder if this link does turn out to be true, if a c-section would be better for babies who don't want to come out? They could easily quit giving it out routinely, but what is the option for those who really need something to get that baby out?
I am aso very resentful that my child was subjected to this chemical. My wife was coerced into agreeing to this proceedure, and when she tried to back out at the last minute, she was kept up all night and hounded by doctors and nursing staff until she relented. At no stage was she informed of the dramatically increased likelyhood of the necessity for a resulting emergency c-section, or that the mandatory monitoring equipment is necessitated by the effects of synthetic oxytocin on the babies heart rate. They waited until I was out of the room, before coercing her into agreeing to having her waters broken, thus mandating that she remain in hospital. They then asket her to agree to accepting the smallest possible dose of Syntocicin, then when things weren't progressing, kept upping the dose until she was experiencing unbearable contractions, with no chance of progression due to the absence af any appreciable dilation.
My daugher is ok, but she does exhibit some signs of mild aspergers, and I can't help wondering if the botched induction was the cause.
Mel from australia,
both my boys were induced with theses drugs due to waters broken but no labour and the midwives detecting they were under stress i was not told about the dangers just told it was necessary. my boys are 2ys and 4 yrs old and both diagnosed with autism. I am crushed that the dangers are not acknowledged or discussed with the mothers they are pumping with this drug not to mention our children did not ask for this. after reading this it makes me wonder if this may be the cause for my boys autism as there is no other in my family so a hereditory factor is missing.
The numbers here are very missleading. 60% of children with autism had pitocin labors while 405 did NOT have pitocin labors... 75% of labors in the US use pitocin. If 75% DO use pitocin, and 40% of children with autism did not have pitocin labors, then pitocin clearly has nothing to do with creating autism.
The only reason people came up with this idea in the first place is because children with autism haave lower than normal amounts of oxytocin in their bodies. If anything, the statistics indicate that pitocin may help children with autism since 75% of children would need to have pitocin births in order for them to be even with those who didn't.
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