Timing of Birth Linked to Cerebral Palsy

There may be one more reason for expectant moms to think twice before scheduling an elective Cesarean delivery to minimize the time they are pregnant. Researchers report that early or late delivery can increase the chances that a newborn develops cerebral palsy.

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a movement disorder that doctors believe originates from an injury to the brain during fetal development or early childhood. The scientists found that babies born at 37 weeks were 90% more likely to have cerebral palsy than babies born at 40 weeks, and that the relative risk was 40% higher among infants born later, after 42 weeks gestation. The overall risk of cerebral palsy among all births, they say, is still small.

While previous studies have found that babies born prior to 39-40 weeks have a higher chance of developing cerebral palsy, it's not clear what contributes to the condition.

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PARENTAL INFERTILITY AND CEREBRAL PALSY IN CHILDREN BORN SPONTANEOUSLY OR AFTER IVF/ICSI

Doctors have known for some time that children born after fertility treatments such as in vitro fertilisation (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) are at increased risk of cerebral palsy. However, it was not known whether this risk was due to the treatment itself, the higher frequency of preterm or multiple births, or a mechanism associated with couples' underlying infertility.

Now, new research published online in the journal Human Reproduction indicates that underlying infertility is not the main reason for the increased risk seen in IVF/ICSI children.

The study led by Dr. Jin Liang Zhu, an epidemiologist at the Danish Epidemiology Science Centre at the University of Aarhus, Denmark, is the first to examine the association between the time it takes a couple to achieve a pregnancy and the risk of cerebral palsy.

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