A study has linked a small number of cases of cerebral palsy to antibiotics given to women in premature labour, according to a report by the BBC. The Oracle study was set up to investigate whether giving antibiotics to women with signs of premature labour would improve outcomes for babies. It found the antibiotic erythromycin had immediate benefits for women in premature labour (before 37 weeks gestation) whose waters had broken. It delayed onset of labour and reduced the risk of infections and breathing problems in babies.
To study the longer-term outcomes, the Medical Research Council followed up the children seven years later. Both antibiotics appeared to increase the risk of functional impairment and treble the chance of cerebral palsy in the children of the women whose waters had not broken.
The researchers believe cerebral palsy is unlikely to be a direct effect of the antibiotic but due to factors involved in prolonging a pregnancy that might otherwise have delivered early.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said: “These findings do not mean that antibiotics are unsafe for use in pregnancy. Pregnant women showing signs of infection should be treated promptly with antibiotics.”
