Oxygen Deprivation May Contribute to Autism

New research with rats suggests that oxygen deprivation during birth could be a contributing cause of autism.

There's no easy way to test the oxygen-deprivation theory in humans, and the finding isn't likely to lead to better treatments in the near future. Still, the research gives scientists greater insight into how factors other than genetics may play a role in autism, said Fabrizio Strata, a neuroscience researcher at the University of California, San Francisco and co-author of the study.

Symptoms of autism, the most common condition in a group of developmental disorders known as autism spectrum disorders, can range from mild to severe. The disability usually strikes by age 3. It lasts a lifetime, and there is no cure, although some people with autism can learn to function well.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, autism is characterized by three distinctive behaviors. Autistic children have difficulties with social interaction, display problems with verbal and nonverbal communication, and exhibit repetitive behaviors or narrow, obsessive interests. Scientists are not certain what causes autism, but it is likely that both genetics and environment play a role.



http://www.healthday.com/view.cfm?id=529762

I don't believe oxygen deprivation can be considered as a cause when birth is by c-section which was planned in advance and carried out according to plan.

If that's the case, oxygen deprivation wouldn't be a requirement but only one of many phenomena that predispose a child to autism.

at birth, either because the scheduled birth resulted in a preemie (like my son, at 36 weeks) because of mistaking due dates, or because c-babies frequently encounter a condition called 'wet lung' where fluids are not squeezed out through birthing contractions. C-section babies are more likely to have breathing problems at birth than full-term vaginally delivered babies, as did my son, who spent 5 days in the NICU getting through his breathing troubles.

which you'd know if you'd ever observed one. Sometimes the placenta is abrupted before the baby is delivered, depriving the baby of oxygen.

Also, it's an unnatural birth process, and sometimes it's difficult to get a newborn from a c-section to start breathing.

Sorry, but careful planning and surgical intervention still don't guarantee a healthy offspring.

to toxic metals such as mercury in vaccines and from their mom's amalgam(mercury) fillings
and that this is also one of the largest sources of the millions of developmentally affected
kids of the past decade.
http://www.flcv.com/kidshg.html
http://www.flcv.com/tmlbn.html
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~berniew1/autismc.html (clinical cases with test data)

but there are also other causes of lesser numbers of cases, including
arsenic from pesticides, etc.
http://www.flcv.com/arsenicc.html