Worrisome father-to-be seeks sound research/advice.

May 24, 2004 9:17 AM

Worrisome father-to-be seeks sound research/advice on links between Epidurals and ADD, MMR inoculations and Autism and other various worrisome type new baby things. Good grief! (Pseudo-science need not apply.)
posted by BrodieShadeTree to health & fitness (18 comments total)

the American Academy of Pediatrics should have all the answers you need. : >
posted by amberglow at 9:29 AM on May 24, 2004

From last week's NYT: Panel Finds No Evidence to Tie Autism to Vaccines.
posted by gwint at 9:42 AM on May 24, 2004

For the whole autism/vaccine nonsense issue, there are different perspectives: Forbes, Autism Society of America.

My advice, as a father, is this: don't worry so much. Most of the parenting books are full of all the bad things that can happen, and leave out the fact that they almost never do. My wife was a nervous new mother, and after our 3rd trip to the emergency room in 5 weeks, one of the nurses gave us the best piece of parenting advice I ever got. She said, "Throw all those damned things in the trash and trust your own instincts."

Having said that, there is one I still recommend: "The New Father: A Dad's Guide to the First Year"
posted by Irontom at 10:16 AM on May 24, 2004

Epidurals and ADD?

An epidural is a anesthetic delivered to the mom, down around the base of her back. There is no mechanism that I could imagine that would give the fetus any exposure to the anesthetic chemicals.

As with all procedures, there's a risk involved (as there is with pregnancy itself), and you all should weigh the benefits and risks.

For one of our kids, we went to all the breathing classes, etc., and were determined to have the birth happen without medications. The OB said, fine, just let us know if you change your mind - and after about an hour of pain pain pain pain pain, we flagged her down, got the needle in, and ... whew! what a difference not having pain makes!

I talked with the anesthesiologist afterwards - and she had a tolerantly amused attitude toward the whole natural childbirth thing. No one, so far as I know, goes to the dentist and says - I want this tooth pulled the natural way - no drugs please! Yet somehow, this has become a virtuous thing in the world of childbirth.

After our experience, we have no reluctance to recommend epidurals for child birth...

Also, what Irontom said - kids are very resilient and hardy little creatures.
posted by jasper411 at 10:36 AM on May 24, 2004

PersonalExperienceFilter: I had an epidural and a c-section and my daughter had all of her immunization doohickeys, and she is not only ADD and autism-free, she is a very healthy, happy, and frighteningly tall young lady. (She's 13, and already 5'8" - the same height I am now.)
posted by bedhead at 10:45 AM on May 24, 2004

I've had anesthesia free childbirth, and also childbirth with just a little sumpin to take the edge off. (Demerol, Nubane)...my most scatterbrained kid is the one born totally drugfree. (But since she is graduating this week it must not have been that bad.)

Try to relax. I know it's hard, but try. If you keep your kid away from too much electronic stimuli the add thing probably won't be a problem. That and make sure the kid has plenty of time and opportunity to run and play actively.
posted by konolia at 12:04 PM on May 24, 2004

BST, There are some good references cited at the end of this lengthy epidural FAQ. Good luck, Dad.

All drugs, no matter how administered, cross the placenta and have the potential to affect the baby. ALL of them. There are no exceptions.

Also, konolia, ADD is something you're born with. It's not something you "catch" from playing too many video games. My son has ADD. We (my husband and I) did not cause it by giving him too much electronic stimuli, or by not giving him enough active play time.
posted by iconomy at 12:21 PM on May 24, 2004

"Don't Worry"~ they say.... Well, as a 10 year public school teacher, I can tell you on authority, there are many, many ways to screw up a kid. I plan to avoid as many 'happenstance' types as possible. Not only that, I would love to avoid anything that might be causative. The connection between Autism and MMR seems enough for me to ask to have the M, the other M and th R administered seperately. I know this is all risky, and I know better than to read "what to expect" stuff. But between it all, I just would like to do it the best way possible.
posted by BrodieShadeTree at 12:28 PM on May 24, 2004

Yo, Brodie: congratulations. Being a dad is an awesome job (both literally and idiomatically), perfectly normal to worry. Being a teacher will only increase the draw. My folks were teachers and worried about me way too much. This served to create deep, permanent scars on my psyche.

Speaking as a former child, presently happy healthy adult, and newish father (2 yrs ago):
Feel free to worry all you like, but it's worth understanding that in this case worry probably only benefits the worrier. Kids grow up. That's what they do. Might as well enjoy the ride, I say.
posted by daver at 1:04 PM on May 24, 2004

Thanks Daver. Sound advice, says I . And relatedly why, amongst other things, I am giving up the teaching gig. For good.
posted by BrodieShadeTree at 3:12 PM on May 24, 2004

While knowledge of those topics is good to have, your bigger worries will probably be much more mundane. Many you cannot avoid (like colds), but others you can prevent.

Rehydrating a dehydrated infant in an ER is harrowing, for both the kid and the parents. Always have a new, unopened bottle of Pedialyte handy. A case would be better.
posted by mischief at 3:18 PM on May 24, 2004

Congratulations! I recommend interviewing health care providers and finding someone you're comfortable with. You're going to have a lot more of these questions. The nursing staff at my doctor's office has been as important as the doctor. They're the ones you talk to when you're trying to decide if you need to go to the ER.

I 2nd the motion on limiting teevee, but despite stricly limited electronic entertaintainment, great nutrition and lots and lots of books, I still have a son with ADD. His dad and I both have mild flavors of it, and we're trying to teach him to cope. The best part about limiting teevee was that it also lessened the insidious effect of marketing, at least for a while.

Divorce has had the most profound effect on my son, so keep your marriage stable if you can.

I love being a parent. It's really, really hard sometimes, but it's absolutely amazing. Good luck.
posted by theora55 at 6:19 PM on May 24, 2004

Brodie - people have already linked to stories about MMR and autism. As a neuroscientist who has been following the story with some interest, I would say that there is basically zero good evidence to suggest that there is any link whatsoever. Indeed, ten doctors who co-authored the original study in the Lancet have retracted their claims that there may be a link between the vaccine and autism, especially in light of the new population studies carried out since then.

I don't believe there is any downside to taking the vaccines separately (I guess it might hurt a bit more but that's not a big deal) compared to the triple vaccine, so if you are uncomfortable with MMR then by all means go ahead with the single vaccines. Personally, I believe that the claim that MMR is linked to autism is bad science and has caused harm to children who haven't received the vaccines as a result.
posted by adrianhon at 6:24 PM on May 24, 2004

Epidurals: safe
Immunizations: safe

Any absolutely, teeny-tiny, miniscule risk of immunizations is far, far, FAR outweighed by the protection that they give from truly scary, deadly diseases.
posted by davidmsc at 7:54 PM on May 24, 2004

The best advice of all the above is RELAX.

As a teacher, you have no doubt seen some little horrors, but have a think about what the cause of their behaviour is - most likely it has nothing to do with whether their mother had an epidural, how much TV they watched, whether they had MMR or any of the completely normal activities that kids engage in despite 27,000 books saying that these things will rot their brains and turn them into violent criminals. Those little horrors are that way almost exclusively because of poor or careless parenting.

Everyone is paranoid about their first child, but we all get over it if we are stupid enough to front up for another round or three. You will get through it, maybe even unscathed and wonder what you were so worried about.

On preview: what davidmsc said.
posted by dg at 8:08 PM on May 24, 2004

The fact that you are asking questions like these means you will do a good job. You are flexible and willing to seek out new ways of doing things rather than adhering to just "what you know."

I would love to avoid anything that might be causative ...
Here's the thing: you can't. For the big stuff, you weigh the pros and cons, but otherwise, ya just hafta go for it.

I hadn't heard that about epidurals before. All I know for sure is that my doctor and everyone around me seemed so concerned about every little thing I injested both times I was pregnant, make sure to get plenty of fresh air and exercise, blah, blah, blah. But when it was time to give birth to the little darlings, I was welcome to have all manner of chemicals pumped into my bloodstream to ease the process. That just didn't make sense. I don't begrudge anyone the pain medication, of course, it just didn't make sense for me.

This is my roundabout way of saying figure out what works for you and your family, and the rest be damned. The books and any other advice you may receive are only good if they reassure you or are genuinely helpful. If you feel scolded or condescended to, move on. (but keep one baby book with a decent first aid reference section for those split-lip/freaky-rash/mystery-wound moments.)
posted by whatnot at 9:10 PM on May 24, 2004

Thanks to all who responded here, and via email .It is good to hear people saying 'calm, calm..' Yes, there is one over arching factor in screwed up kids, and that is not immunizations, epidurals and what not. It is parents. But, the thing is, I will be one of those. Just hope to be a good one vs. a bad one. I think I was extra nervous yesterday as the triple screen test was four days late in coming in... turns out all is well. One (or several) thing less to worry about.
posted by BrodieShadeTree at 10:29 AM on May 25, 2004

Tree - Let me recommend Parenting with Dignity. As a new father I would recommend all parents read this before leaving the hospital.

You'll be fine. Having children is the best feeling in the world.
posted by Macboy at 11:32 AM on May 25, 2004