Kid from Missouri travels

PUD = Peds unexpected diagnosis-Disclaimer, I want to emphasize that not all children with sensory processing, ADHD, or other emotional and/ or behavioral diagnoses have had this trauma during labor and delivery.

Working with parents of children with disabilities, I find that specific diagnoses are not detected or understood. PUD is my interpretation of what I see to be similar situations causing sensory processing, ADHD, or other hidden diagnoses of young children. This section of Nana’s thoughts focuses on how PUD survives with sensory processing disorder related to school and behaviors. We will look at how early life may affect his thought processes and emotional understanding.

Early trauma can happen in utero. It could be a mother smoking, leaving the fetus to struggle for clean air—this action is linked to low birth weight, ADHD, and emotional behaviors. Lack of nutrition, illegal drug use, or stress can have adverse effects on the unborn child.

PUD represents all the children who struggle with a sensory processing disorder, ADHD, and emotional disorders, leading to behavior issues that affect school and home life.

We all carry baggage into our parenthood; we have childhood abuses and traumas, or unresolved issues that can make us react differently to our child. If we have stress or a large amount of stress in our lives during pregnancy, it can cause our unborn child to have stress. It can also create a barrier between mother and child after birth.

According to the National Institute of Health, stress during pregnancy can affect an unborn child after birth by increasing the risks of low birth weight, preterm birth, and slower cognitive development. It may alter fetal brain development—specifically affecting hippocampal volume—potentially causing long-term challenges with social-emotional regulation, anxiety, and increased infant stress reactivity.  National Institutes of Health (.gov) +3

Key Postnatal Effects of Prenatal Stress:

• Behavioral and Emotional Issues: Children may exhibit increased internalizing behaviors, lower resilience to stress, reduced emotional control, and a higher likelihood of anxiety or mood disorders.
• Cognitive Development: Studies suggest elevated prenatal anxiety can lead to lower cognitive scores at 18 months.
• Physical Growth: Chronic stress can lead to lower birth weight and reduced growth during infancy.
• Immune System Impact: Maternal stress can influence the child’s immune system development, potentially increasing susceptibility to illness.
• Bonding and Regulation: Significant prenatal stress may impact early parent-child interaction and make it more difficult for the infant to self-regulate. National Institutes of Health (.gov) +6

How It Happens:
When a mother experiences intense, chronic, or toxic stress, high levels of the stress hormone cortisol can cross the placenta, affecting fetal nervous system development and altering their stress response systems.