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In September 2010, our second son was born.  He stopped breathing shortly thereafter.  Turns out, he was having seizures, which were causing apnea (hence the breathing problems).  We later discovered these seizures were a result of a stroke he had suffered in utero.  Never had we heard of this before.  A baby suffering from a stroke?  Not possible!  Unfortunately, it is possible.  We are very lucky to have our son with us today.  Needless to say, I had a very hard time coming to terms with this.  Just like any mom I'm sure, I wanted to know why and what I could have done to prevent it.  The most frustrating thing about an infant stroke, especially one in utero, is that there are not definite answers.  The doctors can only speculate about causes, and as for the child's prognosis, that is speculation as well.  There is no way to definitively say what life will be like for the child.  Some children suffer minor impairments, so minor, in fact, that an outsider might never know he or she ever suffered a stroke.  Others suffer severe, life-long impairments.  For a parent, this is terrifying.  At first, I didn't want to connect with other parents in the same situation.  It was too hard to hear about all the negatives associated with a stroke, and because newborns don't yet display their personalities, it was truly insufferable wondering how he would turn out.  I made the mistake of reading an article about it shortly after his birth, and it made me feel worse.  As a result, I closed myself off from others, unwilling to communicate my feelings or learn any more about the potential challenges awaiting my child.  Now that he is 8 months old, I can safely say that I wish I had reached out to other parents.  Hearing about the positives is what I needed.  Instead of focusing on what my son WOULDN'T or COULDN'T do, I should have been focusing on the successes many children who have suffered a stroke realize.  That is why I have started a Facebook page - Families Coping with Infant Stroke - and a website - familiescopingwithinfantstroke.yolasite.com.  I'm interested in sharing not only the difficulties but the happiness our children face.  Please feel free to contact me, here, on my Facebook page, or on my website.  I would love to connect with you.