Cerebral palsy, a complication due to premature birth, (infants born before 37 weeks), is caused by damage to the parts of the brain responsible for motor control and coordination. How does magnesium sulfate work to prevent the damage to the brain? Doctors say that it “opens up blood vessels” in the brain.
In a study of women whose water broke early, administering the compound reduced the likelihood of cerebral palsy in half. Those who received the compound were compared to those who received a fake solution. The infants were followed up at birth and two years later to look for signs of cerebral palsy. Important to note, however, was the number of infants who died in each group was the same.
Follow up on side effects caused by the compound is needed before any research is published or any changes are made to the labor procedure. One potentially harmful effect is the fact that magnesium sulfate acts like a sedative. This causes both mothers and babies to be “groggy and sleep”.
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