Possible Cause?

[Hope2OneDay]

Is it possible that a baby who went through a hard birth would be more apt to have some delays? Forceps were used on my son after 3 1/2 hours of pushing. He didn't breathe immediately and a team of doctors were called in to help him get started. I would say that at least 3 minutes went by before he finally took a breath...possibly longer.

He doesn't babble. He makes vowel sounds and will grunt when excited or interested in something. He doesn't point, clap or wave "bye bye". He knows the names of items and that I'm his mama and my husband is dada. He will bring items to you if you ask him, such as a ball or cup. He will look at things when you ask him, such as "where's the cat?". But he won't babble and makes no consonant sounds at all.

He also seems to gag or vomit when we try to feed him lumpy foods or highly textured foods, such as cheerios, cake, or pieces of fruit.

We are in the process of setting up an evaluation for him (language delay and barium swallow test) but in the meantime I am panicked over what is wrong with him.

He's very bright, very interactive, very loving, hates to be alone, and seems interested in learning.

I just wonder if the birth and lack of breathing at first could have something to do with his delays.

Thanks for your time...

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Yes, there is no doubt that it is possible that the difficult birth could have resulted in some developmental lags/difficulties. There is no definite way of knowing. But you are doing the correct thing by arranging the evaluations you described. Consider arranging Early Intervention services for him.

[Hope2OneDay]

Oh...I forgot to mention that my son will be 13 months old May 14th.