tuna during pregnancy | ADHD Information
i can't remember if i ate tuna and here on the coast of scotland we don't have the mercury problem .
i am ADD so we know where my son's ADHD comes from.
You might want to check into vaccinations as well -- many still contain mercury (though the "party line" is that they took it out). "Trace amounts" that they claim are in there are 125 times the recommended amount for a 10 lb. infant. Up until only a few years ago there were vacc's w/ mercury in them for preservative purposes..... they were never recalled and are still on the shelves in some doc offices.
Just a by the way, I do believe ADHD had a genetic component but I think that there are environmental factors that can eccacerbate it (food we eat, chemicals that enter our bodies, etc.)......... It is an interesting study adn there is PLENTY out there. For anyone wanting to follow up on researching vaccines, I would suggest that you always look at who sponsored the "study" -- 9 times out of 10 it's sponsored by teh drug company (or other party) who financially benefit.
I didn't eat tuna or any other type of fish that books said not to eat during pregancy. I pretty much did everything that the books said to do. I had a perfect pregancy. Not sick one day. I was one of the fortunate preganant women.
To blame my son's ad/hd on some law etc... is absolutely ridiculous in my opinion. Ad/hd is what it is and I still believe it is genetically connected. I honestly think that I may have ADD. Haven't been diagnosed but have thought about this a lot lately. My son's dad has Ad/hd. I could blame my ex but is that really what is going to help my son in the long run. No! To blame myself if I do indeed have ADD. No! The blaming game must stop. We have to take it and embrace it and find ways to make life the best we can for our kids. If we spend all of our energy on blaming others then are kids become neglected. Is that what any of us want? I don't think so.
I agree with most of the posters. Love your child and move forward. Do what it takes to make life the most positive you can for your child. Blaming others isn't the answer.
What studies have you seen that proves a link between adhd and mercury poisoning? Just curious. Could you post a link? Thanks.Of course I love my child as he is, but I see how hard life is for him and how he is suffering. THAT makes me very angry at our government (if indeed these levels of mercury are causing some of the cases of ADHD being reported). Something seems to be increasing the number of children affected by ADHD, learning disabilities, and autism. A few of us, with particularly hyper children, remember eating a lot of tuna; how many other mothers might also remember doing the same? Will it take a class action lawsuit to make the government place warning labels on tuna like they do for cigarettes? If even 10% of ADHD cases can be prevented by warning pregnant women against tuna, especially Albacore tuna (and some warnings go so far now as to say that no amount of tuna is safe during pregnancy), then why aren't we getting the word out? I don't blame myself at all. I blame a government that kept this information from me so that money could be made by the tuna industry! I can't be sure tuna caused my son's ADHD, but the research says it's causing someone's child to have ADHD.I think that in the case of the larger numbers of ADHD and learning disabilities , it is not so much that there are more children with the disorders, but that it is being DIAGNOSED in larger numbers...
If you take the time to read through the many forums here, you will come across MANY adults that had all of the problems, symptoms and troubles associated with ADHD as children, but were never diagnosed...my 26 year old daughter is one of them, my husband is another...he is yet to be diagnosed but is most definately ADHD.
Schools were different, social norms were different, recesses were longer, allowances were made. My husband speaks fondly of a 5th grade teacher who, when he noticed the children getting fidgety on a beautiful day, would take them outside for a little vigorous activity, then sit them down under a tree to complete the days lesson. Teachers today have such large class sizes that they cannot devote the extra time to the children like ours that so desperately need it. So much more is taught at such younger ages, so much more is expected of both teacher and student.
We are not "getting the word out" as you say, because none of us that has answered your question ate large amounts of tuna and either do not believe that it is the cause of our children's disorder, or we choose to deal with the disorder rather than flail about looking for someone/something to be angry at. Yes, we feel for our children,and wish that they did not have the issues that they have, but placing blame is not going to help them to function. Anger however well placed, will not do us any good.
I too can trace my children's problems through our family tree, at least to my father. Just like their beatiful eyes, smiles and hair, they got this through family genetics...nothing more nothing less...
chasesmom7939030.6409837963I really think that your energy would be better directed toward helping your child with the disorder, rather than looking for something to blame or beating yourself up about it. Does it really matter? YOu cannot go back and change the past, and blaming yourself will not help anyone, most of all you.
I know how you feel. I too have 2 children with ADD. I also had a second trimester miscarriage that would have driven me crazy had I looked for blame, especially in the mirror.
There are many disorders, malformations, disabilities that we may never know the cause of....as long as you in your heart of hearts know that you did your best (as you knew it at the time) to nurture and care for your unborn child, then let it go, take a deep breath and move on.
Love your child the way he/she is and do your best to make their life a happy one and that is all that you can do.
Although mercury issues during pregnancy is concerning. Please do not blame yourself for things that may or may not be the root issue for your child's difficulty (unless the cause would help determine the proper course of treatment). You could not have known to avoid tuna and are not at fault. Tuna would have been considered an excellent source of needed protein and nutrients for a healthy pregnancy.
My daughter was born after 8 miscarraiges, me under treatment for hypothyroidism and hypertension and age 39. She had the cord wrapped around her neck, causing distress at birth. These are all issues I could wish to have controlled better but could not. Then when I really looked closely at the family tree I saw myself and my husband with mild ADHD traits, family members with addictions, possible bipolar and aspergers. I realized that genetics probably had the most influence on my daughter and that is my fault too.
My daughter is a wonderful person and I would not trade her for the world. I feel like I am strong enough to deal with her issues for her sake, and I just want to give her the help to succeed and be happy. I find the support here helps immensely.
wow. tuna causes ADD and eggs cause cancer 
... who knew!
I've never eaten tuna
No tuna. I could not even eat chicken. I still have a mild aversion to chicken 10 years later.
"eggs cause cancer 
"
You just ruined my favorate saturday breakfast. I',m bad, even with the potential for salmonella, I like to keep the yolks runny...better to dip the toast into. Cant break 50 years of runny yolks.
No tuna. I could not even eat chicken. I still have a mild aversion to chicken 10 years later.
"eggs cause cancer "
You just ruined my favorate saturday breakfast. I',m bad, even with the potential for salmonella, I like to keep the yolks runny...better to dip the toast into. Cant break 50 years of runny yolks.
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that's how chasesmom and i eat eggs
I don't get the sarcastic comparison to eggs since tuna is now known to be loaded with mercury and pregnant women are told to eat only very small amounts (or none at all), but none of that was public knowledge during my pregnancy. I'm not looking to blame myself or anyone else for my son's condition, but if we do find that mercury levels are far more damaging to a fetus than women were ever made aware of (although, God forbid they take a sip of wine!), then I'll have somewhere to direct my anger. They now know how lead in a home is toxic to a child; are we going to find out that mercury is a lot more toxic than originally thought, as well? All I know is that I loved tuna while I was pregnant, and I had no idea that I could be hurting the baby.I had Tuna every day of my pregnancy with my 19 year old who is non-adhd and the mother of my 12 year old with adhd hates tuna... I suppose it could be in the brand? But, there are so many other factors involved. It seems everyday there is a new food to blame for disease and the next day it is the cure. Keep your chin-up! Don't blame yourself over an article
... Who knows tomorrow Tuna may be the cure...I do eat tuna, but I did not eat a particularly large amount during the 2 pregnancies of the ADD children (I have 4 children total). In fact I rarely eat it because I cannot get anyone else in the house to like it!!Did anyone consume a lot of tuna (or other mercury tainted fish) during their pregnancy? Several moms of ADHD children at my support group remember eating a lot of tuna during their pregnancies.Hi Frazzled... I have a bit of a theory that I have used for years... I call it:
The Reader's Theory... Dr's, Parents and the rest of the general public cannot diagnose what they have not ever heard of.
About 15-18 years ago Reader's Digest pubblished and article on Carpal Tunnel Syndrome... within weeks the number of confirmed cases were in the millions... Why? because before it was just a pulled tendon or a muscle strain. Once people were informed of the symptoms they were able to get help for a condition that was not (at the time) widely known.
I look at ADHD/ADD in the same manner. We are better educated by our numerous resources, then our parents or their parents before them. 30 years ago it was thought that 1/1,000,000 children may have dyslexia... look at it now 100s of thousands have Dyslexia. The physicians are learning at a rate far faster then their predecessors... there for, diseases are more accurately diagnosed. Kids and adults may have always had ADHD/ADD but, now we are able to better help them.
If you look through the books of many "now closed" Insane Assylums' there are tens of thousands of children who were deemed uncotrollable "wild children". When you consider our US population alone has tripled in 30 years our new cases vs old cases may not be that much higher per capata. The general public did not hear about this back in the 40's 50' and early 60's such things were not for open public discussion. They just sent the kid away and that was that. There could have been just as many children with ADHD, but it is hard to tell. Before there was a name, there were just a bunch of symptoms.
I hope I didn't make that overly confusing... It's just a thought process I have let expand over the years.
I hate tuna, but when i went to pre-natel classes & post-natel classes, the midwife who ran it said it's ok to have at the most 2 tins a week.Afrazzledmom, I don't think you are "blaming" anything. I call it "educating yourself." I definitely think the environment, food we eat, and chemicals we injest have a lot to do with our health problems/issues. You really might want to check into the vaccinations more closely -- there is a TON of info out there that is frightening. I am doing a ton of research b/c we have a newborn who we have chosen to delay vacc's and selectively decide which, if any, to get. Good luck with your search!
I am very happy to read that many people did not find a connection between mercury tainted fish and their children's ADHD. I do not, however, believe that the only reason for the increase is that we are better at diagnosing the problem. Allergies and asthma are another area where we are seeing huge increases in numbers, and when my sister was young there were so few children coming in with allergies (she had them) that the pediatrician didn't recognize her problem for many, many months. The environment and its impact on our physical and neurological problems is a big concern to me. I am not looking to "blame", I want to get involved and make things better for future generations. There are many websites dedicated to this subject. I'll post links a little later. Thanks for all of the responses!