Research Findings Offer Identifiable Cerebral Palsy Risk Factor
The findings of a new study to be presented at the Third International Cerebral Palsy summit this week show that infections in the mother during pregnancy increase the risk of cerebral palsy – in some cases by as much as sixfold.
While cerebral palsy may be caused by medical negligence, most causes of the condition remain unknown. So this research, according to the president of Cerebral Palsy Australia, is significant in that it offers those in the medical community with an “identifiable risk factor.”
The study itself involved the examination of birth records of nearly 500 children born in the 1980s, some of whom developed cerebral palsy and some who did not. It was found that women who had infections of the urinary tract, among others, were more likely to have a child with cerebral palsy.
Another study to be presented at the international summit will focus on another risk factor – in vitro fertilization (IVF), a procedure that may give rise to multiple births and premature labor. Danish researchers found that children born by way of IVF or assisted conception had higher rates of cerebral palsy.
