Fertility treatments may be increasing cerebral palsy rate

The use of fertility treatments has greatly increased the ability for families to conceive a child, as well as the chances of multiple births. While there have been major medical advances, some medical experts are concerned with its correlation to the increasing cerebral palsy rates that are also occurring.

Just 15 years ago premature babies had only a 20 percent chance of surviving, but today, with thanks to medical advances, premature babies have a 90 percent chance of survival. Though the progress sounds positive, some experts wonder if the tradeoff is worth it.

About 25 to 50 percent of preemies will have learning or behavioral disabilities, and according to Dr. Adre du Plessis from the Children’s Hospital Boston, about 10 to 15 percent of the preterm babies the hospital sees will later develop some form of cerebral palsy. Doctors report the cerebral palsy rate continues to rise and will continue rising until more medical advances are able to identify which premature babies will suffer cerebral palsy.

Researchers are studying a type of monitoring that involves shining near infrared light across the skull and into the brain to detect abnormal blood flow into a baby’s brain. By identifying at-risk babies, researchers hope they will be able to monitor the babies and utilize treatments with medicines leading to cerebral palsy prevention.

Cerebral palsy is irreversible, and if researchers are able to use the infrared monitoring to detect at-risk babies, the discovery would be a major breakthrough.