4MyChild: Help and Hope for Life

September 7, 2006

Study Finds Most Cerebral Palsy Predates Labor

A new report from an article in the New York Times today reported on study that shows less than 10% of cerebral palsy cases were caused by asphxasia. There was a news conference in Albany outlining their findings.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) convened a Task Force on Neonatal Encephalopathy and Cerebral Palsy to collate and review the best scientific data available on the topic and to publish these findings.

A report issued today by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) concludes that the majority of newborn brain injury cases do not occur during labor and delivery. Rather, most instances of neonatal encephalopathy and cerebral palsy are attributable to events occurring before labor begins.

The report indicates that most cases of cerebral palsy were caused not by brain injuries during labour and delivery, but other factors occurring during the pregnancy. The study concludes that it is maternal infection.

Read the summary report.