Maternal infection and cerebral palsy in infants of normal birth weight

The authors investigated infection during the admission for delivery as a possible risk factor for cerebral palsy in infants born weighing 2500g or more. They studied 46 children with disabling, spastic, cerebral palsy who had no recognised prenatal brain lesions, and 378 randomly selected control children weighing 2500g or more at birth and surviving to age 3 years. Maternal fever exceeding 38 degrees C. in labour was associated with increased risk of unexplained cerebral palsy (odds ratio 9.3), as was clinical diagnosis of chorioamnionitis. The authors conclude that intrauterine exposure to maternal infection is associated with a marked increase in risk of cerebral palsy in infants of normal birth weight.