How can you tell a child is a problem child in the womb?

Question

This sounds like nonsense to me. You could say that they are more likely to have social problems if they come from a family with a history of social problems but to stigmatise a child before it is born is rather Orwellian.

Answer 1

You can't.

Lyapunov exponent renders it physically impossible.

I don't stigmatise anyway. What on earth are you responding to?

Answer 2

I have two children and the pregnancies could not have been more, different. My first was problem free and i felt wonderful, I had a difficult birth but the resulting baby was the most placid baby ever, she is now 10 and she is still a calm, caring child.

My second pregnancy was terrible, from the beginning I felt awful, had to give up work I was so poorly. I was in and out of hospital for check ups. I eventually got kept in because of various complications with the pregnancy. Whenever the midwife tried to get a trace on the heart beat she (the baby) moved around too much and they couldn't get one. I had to have a c-section (which supposedly leads to calmer babies).

She is now almost four, she has been a nightmare since getting home from the hospital. She barely slept at all as a baby, she still wakes up through the night most nights. She is very naughty, very bad tempered, has tantrums over the least little thing, she once screamed for 45 mins because i stirred her porridge! She has me demented.

In conclusion, based on my experience, yes you can tell if a child is going to be a problem child when in the womb

Answer 3

You can't.

Nature AND nurture cause both the golden and problem child. But you won't know that until it's obvious.

However, a child born into a family with "social problems" will have a lot to contend with - there is a degree of common sense in that.

"Social problems" can affect all classes of people; but those on a low income are more likely to be identified as such as they are more likely to suffer such.

Tony Blair (If that's what is leading this question) is right in looking at the issue - but it's a bloody minefield and very difficult to get right.

Answer 4

Who said that cos it's daft!! A child may become a problem child when it is born if it is not cared for properly. Not in the womb. It's down to the parents to do the best they can.

Answer 5

Well, don't you think it's true that quite a large portion of what you learn in life, especially early in life, is learned at home? When your family are heroin addicts, thieves, abusive, etc you have a much greater chance of likewise being the same. You learn that what you see happening is normal and socially acceptable behaviour. When unleashed upon society, some of these children can be very destructive. I don't say all children end up this way - there are some that are intelligent enough to figure out that what is happening in their family unit is wrong and then dedicate their lives to being the opposite.

Answer 6

a child becomes the product of its environment
in the womb they are all the same
once born they need nurturing and love and role models to determine what they tyrn out like
therefore you know how a child will turn out by the attitude of its parents (or whoever is raisng it)

Answer 7

The point is that children from bad families are more likely to become problem children. "More likely", not definitely. If you don't like the statistic, change the world. You can't deny facts just because they seem unfair or unpalatable.

Answer 8

I'm with Minxy on this one...when you have the scan, if the foetus is wearing a baseball cap and revving up a mini moto bike then you know there's going to be trouble!

Answer 9

there,s no way of telling until the child is born and develops a personality of his/her own

Answer 10

A Chav when he or she kicks the hell out of the mother in the womb.