Massachusetts Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Delaying labor can decrease risk of cerebral palsy

Massachusetts attorney Thomas M. Kiley, concentrates on legal issues surrounding cerebral palsy and birth injuries.  The New England Journal of Medicine, published a report that says preterm infants born to mothers receiving intravenous magnesium sulfate — a common treatment to delay labor — are less likely to develop cerebral palsy than are preterm infants whose mothers do not receive it.  The research was done by the National Institute of Health research network.

    The research showed that a third of all cases of cerebral palsy are associated with preterm birth and that of those cases, there was a significant reduction in cerebral palsy among preterm infants whose mothers were given magnesium sulfate.  The researchers theorized that magnesium sulfate protects against cerebral palsy because it can stabilize blood vessels, protect against damage from oxygen depletion, and protects against injury from swelling and inflammation. Click here for more information.