Among Swedish women, being overweight or obese early in pregnancy was associated with increased rates of cerebral palsy in children, according to a study appearing in the March 7 issue of JAMA. 
 
 Despite advances in obstetric and neonatal care, the prevalence of cerebral palsy has increased from 1998 through 2006 in children born at full term. Few preventable factors are known to affect the risk of cerebral palsy. Maternal overweight and obesity are associated with increased risks of preterm delivery, asphyxia-related neonatal complications, and congenital malformations, which in turn are associated with increased risks of cerebral palsy. It is uncertain whether risk of cerebral palsy in offspring increases with maternal overweight and obesity severity and what could be possible mechanisms. 
 
 Eduardo Villamor, M.D., Dr.P.H., of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and colleagues conducted a study that included women with children born in Sweden from 1997 through 2011. Using national registries, children were followed for a cerebral palsy diagnosis through 2012. 
 
 Of 1,423,929 children included (average gestational age, 39.8 weeks), 3,029 were diagnosed with cerebral palsy over a median 7.8 years of follow-up. Analysis of the data indicated that maternal overweight (body mass index [BMI] of 25 to 29.9) and increasing grades of obesity (BMI 30 or greater) were associated with increasing rates of cerebral palsy. Results were statistically significant for children born at full term, who comprised 71 percent of all children with cerebral palsy, but not for preterm infants. 
 
 An estimated 45 percent of the association between maternal BMI and rates of cerebral palsy in full-term children was mediated through asphyxia-related neonatal complications. 
 
 The authors note that although the effect of maternal obesity on cerebral palsy may seem small compared with other risk factors, the association is of public health relevance due to the large proportion of women who are overweight or obese. "The number of women with a BMI of 35 or more globally doubled from approximately 50 to 100 million from 2000 through 2010. In the United States, approximately half of all pregnant women have overweight or obesity at the first prenatal visit. Considering the high prevalence of obesity and the continued rise of its most severe forms, the finding that maternal overweight and obesity are related to rates of cerebral palsy in a dose-response manner may have serious public health implications." 
 
 Explore further: Birth asphyxia tied to fewer than 10 percent of cerebral palsy cases 
 
 More information: JAMA. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2017.0945 
 
 ||||| En Español 
 
 By Steven Reinberg 
 
 HealthDay Reporter 
 
 TUESDAY, March 7, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- Women who are overweight or obese during pregnancy may be increasing the chances that their baby could be born with cerebral palsy, a new study suggests. 
 
 Researchers looked at information on more than 1 million children born to Swedish women who were followed for nearly eight years. 
 
 "The overall risk of cerebral palsy was about 2 cases per 1,000 babies born," said lead researcher Dr. Eduardo Villamor, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. "Women with the most severe forms of obesity who have babies born at full term may have about twice that risk." 
 
 Moreover, the prevalence of cerebral palsy has increased in children born at full term, he noted. 
 
 However, Villamor stressed that the study findings only show an association between a woman's weight during pregnancy and the risk of cerebral palsy, not that maternal obesity causes the condition. 
 
 "Although the effect of maternal obesity on cerebral palsy may seem small compared with other risk factors, the association is of public health relevance due to the large proportion of women who are overweight or obese worldwide," Villamor said. 
 
 Cerebral palsy is a group of disorders that affect the ability to move and maintain balance and posture. It's the most common motor disability in childhood. The condition is caused by abnormal brain development or damage to the developing brain that affects the ability to control muscles, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 
 
 Many people with cerebral palsy also have other health problems, such as intellectual disability, seizures, issues with vision, hearing or speech, changes in the spine, or joint problems. 
 
 Overweight and obesity in early pregnancy may increase the risk for a number of complications and can adversely affect the health of mothers and children, Villamor said. 
 
 Some studies suggest that weight loss before pregnancy may decrease some of these risks, he said. 
 
 "Although we don't know yet if this also applies to cerebral palsy, weight loss before pregnancy among overweight and obese women may offer some health benefits during and after pregnancy," Villamor said. 
 
 One obstetrician concurred. 
 
 "There continues to be evidence of many different repercussions and outcomes associated with being overweight or obese," said Dr. Siobhan Dolan, a medical advisor at the March of Dimes. 
 
 "All the data is pointing to the same issue -- that it's good to get to a healthy weight before pregnancy and to gain the right amount of weight during pregnancy," she said. 
 
 For the study, Villamor and colleagues collected data on more than 1.4 million children born in Sweden from 1997 through 2011. More than 3,000 children were eventually diagnosed with cerebral palsy. 
 
 For infants born at full term, who accounted for 71 percent of all cerebral palsy cases, the association between maternal obesity and cerebral palsy was statistically significant. But it was not statistically significant for preterm babies, the researchers noted. 
 
 About 45 percent of the association between maternal weight and cerebral palsy in full-term children was seen in infants who had breathing complications, they added. 
 
 The report was published March 7 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. 
 
 A cerebral palsy expert said maternal obesity isn't the only risk factor for the condition. 
 
 "About 30 to 40 percent of cerebral palsy is genetic," said Dr. David Roye, executive director of the Weinberg Family Cerebral Palsy Center at Columbia University in New York City. He is also the medical director of the Cerebral Palsy Foundation. 
 
 But environmental factors linked to obesity, such as high blood pressure, diabetes and hormonal abnormalities, might trigger a genetic predisposition for the condition, he added. 
 
 "As you are planning a pregnancy and entering pregnancy you want to be healthy," Roye said. Being at your best includes maintaining a healthy weight, avoiding smoking and alcohol and continuing to exercise, he said. 
 
 The time to lose weight is before you become pregnant, Roye stressed. 
 
 "It would be wrongheaded for someone, particularly after they became pregnant, to decide they are going to lose weight -- that's not a good plan," he said. "You should be at your best and fittest before you go into the pregnancy." 
 
 More information 
 
 Visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for more on cerebral palsy. ||||| Note: Javascript is disabled or is not supported by your browser. For this reason, some items on this page will be unavailable. For more information about this message, please visit this page: About CDC.gov
– Babies born to overweight mothers may be at greater risk of developing cerebral palsy, new research shows. Scientists who followed 1.4 million babies born in Sweden between 1997 and 2011 found that more than 3,000 developed the disorder, which the CDC says is the most common childhood motor skills disability. Researchers reported in JAMA that they while found no significant link to babies' birth weight and cerebral palsy, they did see an association to maternal weight in full-term deliveries. The association increased as a mother's body mass index increased, per Medical Xpress. While the risk factor—2 cases out of 1,000 births—may seem low, babies born to mothers severely obese in early pregnancy were twice at risk, says lead researcher Dr. Eduardo Villamor, per HealthDay. The findings are important "due to the large proportion of women who are overweight or obese worldwide," Villamor says. In the US, half of all expectant moms are overweight at their first neonatal exam, per Medical Xpress. A Columbia University expert tells HealthDay that cerebral palsy is 30% to 40% genetic, but factors such as obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes may trigger a genetic predisposition. Although more research is needed, Villamor says losing weight before pregnancy is known to reduce ill effects on children. All the data show that "it's good to get to a healthy weight before pregnancy," an obstetrician tells HealthDay. (Fish oil during pregnancy may cut babies' asthma risk.)