| Summary: | This study examined the relationship between the events surrounding one's birth
and subsequent sensory capacity in adulthood. Data was extracted from the Human
Neuropsychology and Perception Laboratory Data Bank at the University of British
Columbia to determine whether mild birth risk factors have an impact on adult sensory
capacities. The final sample consisted of 716 female and 529 male participants (mean
age = 19.9) for whom both an indication of birth stress and at least one measure of
sensory capacity were available. The extent of birth stress was determined by having
subjects complete a questionnaire examining the incidence of nine birth risk factors
during their birth: a) long labour b) breech birth c) breathing difficulty d) instrument
delivery e) Caesarian delivery f) multiple birth g) premature birth h) low birth weight
and i) high risk birth order. Seven sensory capacities were also tested using standard
laboratory techniques; these included visual acuity, macular suppression, stereopsis,
colour discrimination, pure tone hearing, speech recognition and sound localization.
Significant associations between mild birth stressors and reduced adult capacity
were found. Of the birth stressors examined, long labour was found to affect the sensory
systems the most, possibly because other birth stressors such as hypoxia and forceps
delivery often coincide with prolonged labours. Vision was found to be more vulnerable
to birth stress effects than was audition, which may be due to the fact that the visual
system matures more slowly than does the auditory system. These results suggest that it
may be useful to include sensory factors in the pattern of deficits usually called the
Alinormal Syndrome.
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