Risk factors during pregnancy Pre-eclampsia is
associated with an increased risk of cerebral palsy in term
infants, but this association does
not seem to exist in preterm infants. It has been suggested that preeclampsia
may lead to a release of catecholamines in
preterm infants, which accelerates fetal maturation
but care is needed in
comparing rates in infants of the same gestation, given that
pre-eclampsia itself can be directly responsible for preterm
births. Alternatively, the presence of pre-eclampsia may
result in elective preterm delivery, avoiding the
inflammatory responses of spontaneous preterm lab ours
with all their associated problems such as infection and
precipitate delivery.
Whilst maternal trauma in pregnancy has been implicated
as a possible cause of cerebral palsy, this issue is not
resolved. The rate of cerebral palsy was
increased in children whose mothers received thyroid
hormone or o estrogen in pregnancy in the NCPP