Hey Everyone,
I ran across some studies linking drinking before conception as a link or cause for autism or adhd. For those of you who have children did this impact them in any way? My son is showing signs of neurodivergence but I am unsure if it was caused by me.

by Far_Needleworker27

4 comments

  1. There is one million tenuously linked causes and an eternal chasm of further research to be done. Don’t focus on what may or may not have led to here. Just dive into being as supporting and understanding going forward.

  2. Some research also shows autism is more likely with an older dad 🤷

    I applaud the efforts of the scientific community but until there’s more strong consensus we just don’t know. Don’t tie yourself in knots wondering if you could’ve prevented something nobody knows how to.

  3. 1. Find the stats for ADHD and autism occurrence in comparable nations where one has a drinking culture and one does not. For example an Islamic nation compared to a non Islamic nation.
    2. Find the stats for ADHD and autism occurrence in sub groups within a single nation where one group has a drinking culture and one group does not. For example an Islamic group compared to a non Islamic group. Make sure to compare people with parentage going back at least 3 generations in the host nation to ensure like-with-like comparison.
    3. Find stats for ADHD and autism occurrence at different points in a single nation’s near recent history among different sub groups of that nation and compare those stats with today’s stats. Plot the trajectory while taking into account both lifestyle changes and diagnoses criteria. It is important to compare like-with-like.

    I almost guarantee you will find no overall proof that a mother who drinks alcohol moderately during pregnancy is any more likely to birth children who suffer ADHD or autism than a mother who drinks no alcohol during pregnancy. There may be correlation where large amounts of alcohol are consumed during pregnancy but I would say other alcohol related health risks to the fetus or unborn child feature more prominently than ADHD or autism.

    We know that ADHD and autism are often genetically bestowed on those who have those characteristics. The more likely causal factor for someone’s predisposition to have ADHD or autism is that the child of a mother who drank heavily in pregnancy (or father who drank heavily at the time of his child’s conception) has autism or ADHD and alcohol is the medication of choice.

    Source: people drank more in the 1950s, 60s and 70s and awareness programs around the dangers of drinking alcohol while pregnant did not kick into gear until the late ’70s and early ’80s. Autism and ADHD are diagnosed more now than they ever were in the past; and that includes when diagnostic criteria are similar.

    We know DNA is not the only cause of those two characteristics. I surmise that something introduced to our environment in the last 20 to 30 years is causing an uptick in ADHD and ASD cases. Maybe modern plastics are the trigger or perhaps pharmaceuticals, recreational drugs or antidepressants are the trigger. Personally, I think the rise in usage of modern antidepressants is the main environmental trigger.

  4. I don’t have the study at hand, but there was one which said if you spend more ‘quality time’ with younger children, emphasis on social interaction and play it lessens the impact of autism.

    I mean, we are highly highly developed social animals and we didn’t just roll out that way so it makes sense.

    All I mean to say is, it probably isn’t that bad, and if you spend a lot of time and love with them it’ll be ok

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