Catherine,

Two very common causes of breathing difficulties (Hyaline Membrane Disease and TTN -Transient Tachypnoea of the Newborn) at birth in infants are: 1). Prematurity and 2). Caesarian Section. There are other causes as well, but these are the most common.

In prematurity it is because of the immaturity of the lungs to perform their function  - difficulty expanding alveoli etc. In Caesarian Section it is because the fluid that is in the lungs before birth does not get squeezed out during the normal birth process. Usually there is about 40 + mls of fluid that gets expelled during a vaginal delivery and this does not happen in C/S.

So, for the C/S infant their breathing difficulties are usually more short lived than the premature infant - but this also depends a great deal on the gestation. So babies that are both prem and C/S  can have quite a few days/weeks where they need respiratory support.

If your babies had not had either of these two circumstances related to their births, then certainly it would be interesting to investigate/surmise a possible connection to CAH. Too often I have found doctors glibly dismiss associations of symptoms and it can be very frustrating.

Just a question, were your son’s with respiratory distress diagnosed with and treated for CAH, throughout this time? If not, then the non-treatment of the CAH may have exacerbated their already existing predisposition, to these symptoms.

Megan