PARENTS should not be so quick to point the finger at obstetricians when babies develop cerebral palsy. A neurologist has found that inflammation during pregnancy, rather than a lack of oxygen during birth, is the more likely culprit.
About 0.2 per cent of all full-term babies are born with cerebral palsy, which leaves them unable to control their limbs or speech. Obstetricians are often held to blame for the illness, but evidence is mounting that only a small minority of cases are caused by oxygen deprivation during birth, says Karin Nelson of the National Institutes of Health near Washington DC.
Instead, infections and other forms of inflammation may be the main cause of the condition. Nelson and Judith Grether of the California Birth Defects Monitoring Program in Emeryville, analysed blood samples from 31 newborns with cerebral palsy and 65 healthy babies, measuring over 50 compounds. These included cytokines, such as ...
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