Study shows that 30% of the accidents causing cerebral palsy in babies is linked to the administration of medications

May 21, 2019, Kitchener, Ontario

Posted by: Robert Deutschmann, Personal Injury Lawyer

Study shows that 30% of the accidents causing cerebral palsy in babies is linked to the administration of medications

Cerebral palsy is one of the most common neurological disorders, affecting nearly 17 million people worldwide. CP is diagnosed in childhood. It is a disorder impairs the body’s ability to control movement and posture often occurring as a result of damage or disruption of blood supply to the developing brain of the foetus during pregnancy or delivery.

The Japan Council for Quality Health Care conducted a study from 2009-2013 which examined 897 cases in which babies were born with CP. The infants looked at were born at full term (37 weeks or more) and had no other specific findings in an MRI scan. Premature infants were removed from the study as they are known to be at an increased risk of cerebral palsy.

What they found was that in 30% (185 children) of these cases the mothers were administered labour inducing medications such as Oxytocin which is used in Canada as well. In 105 of 185 cases that involved Oxytocin the researchers found that the dosage administered exceeded the recommended amount by the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology (JSOG). In 43 of the children born with CP who were born after Oxytocin was administered did not have appropriate fetal heart rate monitoring during labour.

Recommendations of the study include that doctors administer the minimum required dosage and monitor the condition of the mother and infant continuously. Larger doses of the medications can cause critical complications for the fetus or the mother, and excessive contractions of the uterus and in rare cases can cause uterine rupture.

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