Your Childrens Health

Research doctors have discovered that they can cut the risk of cerebral palsy in premature babies by half by giving the expectant mothers Epsom salts (magnesium sulphate) just before they give birth.

The lead researcher, Dr Dwight Rouse, said that although they weren’t entirely clear on how magnesium sulphate works, they believed the mineral compound was responsible for opening up the blood vessels in the baby’s brain.

2,241 women took part in the study, all between 24-31 weeks pregnant and going into premature labour. Cerebral palsy was lower in babies whose mothers had been given Epsom salts (2%), compared to those who hadn’t been (4%).

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This entry was posted on Thursday, February 21st, 2008 at 6:12 pm and is filed under Pregnancy and Newborns. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.