Mommy Alert! Epsom Salts Can Reduce Risk of Cerebral Palsy

February 3, 2008

New research shows that giving pregnant women Epsom salts just before they birth a premature baby can half the infant's chance of getting cerebral palsy.

According to an Associated Press article, the government funded study followed 2,241 women who were between 24 and 31 weeks pregnant.

It said:

Most of the women were in early labor because their water broke. They were given either the compound or a fake solution. The infants were examined for signs of cerebral palsy at birth and over the next two years.

Of the babies who survived, moderate or severe cerebral palsy occurred in about 2 percent of those in the treatment group compared to about 4 percent of those whose mothers didn't get the compound.

The death rate was about even.

Source

5 Comments

lickety split 5 years 16 weeks

interesting. about the opening of the blood vessels in the brain; since premies are often prone to brain bleeds i'm notsure how widely used this treatment could be, and may explain why the death rate was the same in both study groups. years ago there was a girl in my oldest daughters social skills class that had mild cp (my daughter has autism). this child looked totally fine to the point that i questioned the appropriateness of her placement in the class. while, i ran into her mother about a year ago and although the cp is mild is had impacted the childs life in a very sad way. she had just turned 9 and her fine motor skills are such that she can't fasten the buttons/snaps on her jeans. so she wears what the other kids call "dork pants". she's not good at drawing and has trouble with basic eye hand coordination (catch, any ball sports). she's very unhappy at school because of the challenges her everyday work involves, and it's a fight everyday to get her to go.

lickety split 5 years 16 weeks