What if ...?

With all that is going on in the life of PJ Bear at the moment I can't help but wonder what makes him the way he is. Whilst we play the 'wait to see' game with the neurologist my thoughts have been with possible causes of his situation. It has made for interesting discussion with Child of Nature.

Of course, when we get to the appointment the paediatric neurologist will look at our genetics, will look for nerve damage, including the insulating layer, they will also look for things like tumours. But for the last few days I haven't been able to help wondering whether the intervention at his birth may have something to do with it.

The whole train of thought was kicked off with a discussion about the wiring of the brain from birth into adult years. You see, PJ Bear was not the most settled child in the world and he was very demanding in his first year. It was a hard slog, especially at night in those early years. (Quite similarly to what I am going through now with Princess Poppy).

We discussed it in car on the way home tonight. The thing that I had to ask was whether the lack of stimulation went back further than we thought, that his need for sensory input and lack of pain sensation went back as far as birth but possibly without a genetic cause.

This made me wonder if the early induction of labour with the use of syntocin drip had anything to do with the child I am dealing with today. We know that the long contractions of a syntocin induced labour can lead to oxygen deprivation - often leading to other interventions.

Lack of oxygen can do all kinds of funky things to the brain. I remember clearly the midwife coming in and checking the CTG (foetal monitor) and specifically saying, "Your baby is showing signs of distress, so we are going to see what is going on *now*." Yes, those five minute long contractions from hell, with the epidural that only took on one side, were equally as ill-received by PJ Bear.

It felt for that first year that his life was a daily reflection of the day that he was born - full of stress to mother and baby alike. So now I wonder whether my accepting my Obstetrician's recommendation for the induction (due to a DVT in my calf) was really necessary. I wonder whether my decisions were the cause of all that lies on the road we have travelled with him.

What if an induced labour and intervention can cause neurological problems? I don't know myself, right now, if that is possible but would be interested in what research is out there about this.