Antenatal and Intrapartum Risk Factors for Cerebral Palsy in Term and Near-term Newborns

BACKGROUND: Cerebral palsy (CP) is one of the main disabilities in term-born infants. This study attempts to investigate the maternal and neonatal factors associated with CP.METHODS: This case-control study consisted of singleton term and near-term (36 or more weeks of gestation) newborns in Tehran health-care centers and was conducted over a 24-month period. Logistic regression analysis analyzed the data with SPSS 16.0.RESULTS: During the study period there were 53 infants in the case group and 106 in the control group. The main factors associated with CP were perinatal asphyxia [odds ratio (OR): 97.72; CI: 21.2–450.07], maternal age 35 years (OR: 20.89; CI: 1.05–412.62), and high risk pregnancy (OR: 0.2; CI: 0.04–0.932). CONCLUSIONS: Several maternal, antenatal and intrapartum factors increase the risk for CP. Identifying and avoiding risks for CP may lead to lower infant neurologic morbidity