Confused

[Tearose71]

Hi I have recently read found out that when I was in labour twelve years ago my son suffered from fetal decelerations of between70-80 beats myself or my husband were never made aware of this as the birth was always classed as normal my beautiful little man has profound learning difficulties autism a severe dyspraxia that frequently knocks him of his feet I have asked my GP and he says its unlikely the two are linked but I and feeling that I need to find out for my son has anyone got any advice or had a similar issue many thanks x

[KatMumsnet]

Hi there, we've moved your thread into Special Needs: Children. Best of luck finding the advice you need

[Tearose71]

Thankyou

[Ineedalife]

Hi Tearose and welcome to the board. I saw you post and didnt want it to go unanswered.

There have been a few threads on this subject over the last couple of years[since I have been coming on here] and they usually have very mixed responses.

I have 2 Dd's on the autistic spectrum although Dd1 is undiagnosed, they were both difficult deliveries. Dd1 was a feet first breech who got stuck[not csection] and Dd3 was breech at 37 weeks but then turned and was face up at delivery. Both had intervention to aid delivery.

I dont know if that is why they are Autistic but my middle Dd had a very relaxed water birth and is NT[apart from dyslexia].

You might need to consult a professional with experience of this. A GP is unlikely to have much knowledge about it IME.

[AgnesDiPesto]

You need to speak to a specialist solicitor in clinical negligence (i used to be one before i had a child with ASD). You can find one on Law Society Find a Solicitor and look under specialism clinical negligence. There is still legal aid for cases where a child was injured at birth. You can also look at Chambers and Partners which gives firms a rating. (try and use one of the top five)
Legal aid would be in the name of your child.
You might have to go through the NHS complaint procedure first - the lawyer could explain this to you and how to get your birth records etc
You are entitled to an explanation you don't have to think of it as making a complaint.
Not all injuries can be linked to birth - some kinds of brain damage show up on scans as very clearly linked to lack of oxygen but for autism on its own the medical knowledge of what causes it is not there yet to necessarily prove a link. However as your son as other problems it would be worth pursuing.
AVMA is a charity that works in this area.
Just having an explanation from an obstetrician going through your notes with you is really beneficial for many parents.
Only 1 in 10 cases of birth injury (if your sons difficulties do stem from birth and they may not) are due to negligence. But many parents who go through the complaints / legal process find answers and even if they do not have a claim that is really worthwhile

[Tearose71]

Thankyou so much for all that info he has had several scans over the years the last one done a bham children's was the latest high tech showed a small area of scar tissue which was classed as insignificant obviously I had no IDE then what happened at birth really would like to sit down and have a consultant talk me through this many thanks