Association of maternal tocolysis or antenatal corticosteroids with cerebral palsy: a study protocol

Abstract

Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common developmental disorder associated with lifelong motor impairment and disability. Although severe intrapartum hypoxia/ischaemia during birth may be instrumental in the causal pathway leading to cerebral palsy this accounts for only 10% of cases. Antenatal exposures that lead to cerebral palsy are, therefore, important to understand, particularly those that are modifiable. This application seeks to determine whether antenatal exposure to medications to prevent uterine contractions (tocolysis) and assist lung maturation (corticosteroids) have any association with cerebral palsy, particularly in pregnancies presenting moderately preterm. We plan to perform a secondary analysis on two large existing datasets (the ORACLE trials) of pregnancies presenting before term. If an association is found the results could have significant implications for clinical management and the direction of future research.