Brain Injury

Separation of the placenta before delivery of the foetus. It is an important cause of perinatal mortality and morbidity (perinatal mortality rate is approximately 15%]) The maternal effect of abruption depends primarily on its severity, whereas its effect on the foetus is determined both by its severity and the gestational age at which it occurs.

It accounts for 30% of all cases of antepartum haemorrhage:

  • The normal placenta separates from the uterus prematurely and blood collects between the placenta and the uterus.

  • It is estimated to occur in 6.5 pregnancies per 1,000 births.

  • The cause of placental abruption is unknown.

There are two main forms:

  • Concealed (20% of cases) - where haemorrhage is confined within the uterine cavity and is the more severe form.

  • Revealed (80%) - where blood drains through the cervix, usually with incomplete placental detachment and fewer associated problems.

© Patient.co.uk

Placental Abruption Complications


Maternal Complications


  • Hypovolemic shock (shock due to excessive blood loss)

  • Disseminated intravascular coagulation (blood clotting problems)

  • Necessity of a blood transfusion

  • Kidney failure


Foetal Complications


  • Oxygen and nutrients deprivation

  • Brain damage and cerebral palsy due to reduced oxygen supply

  • Low blood count or low blood pressure

  • Premature birth

  • Growth problems and learning issues

  • Stillbirth

© Pregmed.org

I was born premature and my Mother and I were in distress this lead to bleeding and an emergency caesarean section as a result, the amount of blood lost was so huge at one point the doctors were prepared to give my Mother a blood transplant (hypovolemic shock). It has come to my attention that this is one of factors (other than genetics and having other family members on the spectrum) to why I am on the Autism spectrum and not only that but the presentation and trajectory to.

“25% of babies who experience hypoxic/anoxic injuries at the time of labour will have permanent neurological problems.”

© 2014 Birth Injury Justice.org by Becker Law Firm, L.P.A. All rights reserved.


Aspects Of My Birth


  • Cerebral Hypoxia - Lack of Oxygen to the Brain

  • Prematurity - Born too early sometimes to referred to as Preemie Syndrome

  • Middle Cerebral Artery Syndrome - Sensory perceptual processing particular visual agnosias, sensory distortion, receptive and expressive language processing and movement

  • Silent Stroke (In Womb) - Related to cerebral hypoxia and can cause damage (in my case) to the left hemisphere of the brain - visual and auditory perceptual processing in particular

  • Left Hemisphere Brain Injury - Related to the parts of my Autism "Fruit Salad" Aphasia, Visual Agnosias and Language Processing


My Autism profile consists of many speech, language, perceptual and developmental delays which includes


  • Speech Delay (non-verbal 5 year approx with speech regression)

  • Motor Coordination Delays (crawled with one arm and didn't start walking until 18 months old)

  • Language Delay (gained functional speech between the ages 7/8 years is that of a 3 year old developmentally)

  • Learning Difficulties (dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia)

  • “Mild” Learning Disability

  • Visual Agnosias (simultagnosia, semantic agnosia, prosopagnosia, visual-verbal agnosia)

  • Auditory Agnosias (pure auditory agnosia, verbal auditory agnosia, receptive and expressive aphasia)

  • Body Agnosias (finger agnosia and visual-spatial dysgnosia)

  • Hemispatial Neglect (related to brain injury, left-handedness, left-right confusion related to Gerstmann Syndrome)


Genetics


They also come into play because there are such things as genetic based agnosias, processing issues and learning difficulties which can be passed down from generations to generation (although the fashion in which this is done is highly variable) the cross over with other profiles seems to be there and commonalities are present in some of the conditions such as