We suspect my eldest DD has ADHD - it was a long induced labour (20 hrs) with all kinds of nastiness thrown in. DD was quite flat when she was first born and I have often wondered whether her ongoing concentration and self-organisation issues are a result of not getting quite enough oxygen throughout that time.

it's also highly likely that my DH has ADHD - and his birth was quick and easy. But he fell off the balcony at age 2 and cracked his skull. He was also lovingly fed cows milk (no, not even formula) from the time he was about 3 weeks old, which feeds into the theory that deficiencies in long chain fatty acids are implicated. Or maybe there's a genetic link. We will never know.

FWIW, I *was* prepped for a calm and active labour and it just didn't roll that way. I don't think you can blame yourself. Besides which, the connection (if any) is a statistical correlation and doesn't imply causation. There are a whole lot of these correlations in relation to ADHD, but I don't think they really understand yet what exactly causes it.

Guilt is in the range of normal emotions that parents feel faced with a diagnosis like this. Going through all the "what if's" is part of the process of coming to grips with it. But don't get stuck on this one thought. You will never know for sure. And it doesn't change anything. ADHD is what it is. Be kind to yourself, give yourself some time and space to receive this new reality. Then you can get on with dealing with it in the best way to go forwards.