Premature Infant Medication Linked to Cerebral Palsy

A drug that is used to increase the chances of survival in unborn premature babies also may increase the risk of cerebral palsy. Betamethasone is used to speed up the development of unborn babies, given to women who are at risk of premature birth.

Obstetricians frequently continue the steroid treatment weekly in women who remained pregnant after the first course. A NIH panel that year, concerned with the lack of safety data for this practice, suggested multiple courses should be strictly reserved for patients enrolled in clinical trials.

In a study of 556 pregnant women, half were given multiple doses of Betamethasone where the others were given a placebo. About 6% of the women who took Betamethasone had children who developed or were born with cerebral palsy where less than 1% of the placebo group resulted in cerebral palsy.