Expert: Jene Aviram - 12/19/2009

Question
Hi there,
First of all, thank you so much for taking the time to address my concern. I'm a young, first time mom and especially concerned about autism because I read the articles that stress during pregnancy can cause autism. I'm generally anxious and got pretty stressed several times during my pregnancy. However, I actually had a really easy delivery, and my daughter is now almost 6 weeks old. Everything has been pretty typical I think, except it seems like she really likes staring at lights and our dark wooden ceiling fan. I've read that from birth newborns should gaze into their mother's face, but she always seems to be looking past me instead of studying my face. I don't know if I'm looking at the wrong times or she's overstimulated or if this signifies the early signs of a disorder.
Also she hasn't started smiling yet. I wasn't sure when that should happen.

I truly appreciate your input.

Thank you,
Lauren

Answer
Hi Lauren,

You can stop worrying right away!  Stress does NOT cause autism.  There are all sorts of studies about what causes autism and there is no clear cut answer.  But stress is not among them so please don't be concerned.  And I can tell you right now that you'd be hard pressed to find someone that didn't go through some pretty stressful periods in their pregnancy.  In today's world with the pressure of work, finances, pressure and responsibilities, stress is common in women - pregnant or not.

Your daughter sounds like she is right on track.  Her vision is not yet developed and she has trouble focusing on things.  That's totally normal and exactly how it should be.  She is bound to stare at lots of things.  A moving fan is bound to attract her attention and so is the lights.  All babies develop at different rates.  Some gaze into their mothers face.  Some only look at their mom while feeding.  It all takes time for babies to develop.  Babies typically start smiling from 6 to 10 weeks.  Some say their babies began smiling at 2 weeks or 4 weeks, but the professionals argue it's not a real smile and is caused from gas.  And so your daughter is just where she should be.

As hard as it is, get autism out of your mind and enjoy every minute with your daughter.

I hope this has been of some help.

Jene Aviram
http://www.nlconcepts.com