The risk of cerebral palsy in survivors of multiple pregnancies with cofetal loss or death.
OBJECTIVE
This study investigated the risks for cerebral palsy in survivors of multiple pregnancies with cofetal loss (< 20 weeks' gestation) or cofetal death (>or= 20 weeks' gestation).


METHODS
The total Western Australian population-based case-control study included 741 cases of cerebral palsy.


RESULTS
Antenatal cofetal loss or death occurred in 3% of all cases of cerebral palsy, which is a small but significant contribution. The odds ratio for cerebral palsy in survivors of cofetal loss that included iatrogenic pregnancy reduction was 2.65 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.78-8.98), which gave a population-attributable proportion of 7.28% (95% CI, 0-27.5), compared with 4.25 (95% CI, 1.12-16.10) and 10.6% (95% CI, 1.0-35.6) for survivors of cofetal death.


CONCLUSIONS
This study quantifies the contribution of cofetal death to cerebral palsy and suggests that cofetal loss makes a similar, although somewhat smaller, contribution to the risk for cerebral palsy in survivors of multiple pregnancies.
Taylor
Catherine L
CL
Center for Developmental Health, Curtin University of Technology, and the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, Perth, Western Australia.
de Groot
Jan
J
Blair
Eve M
EM
Stanley
Fiona J
FJ
D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005313:Fetal Death / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011272:Pregnancy, Multiple; D050497:Stillbirth / Q000453:epidemiology; D017741:Survivors; D014310:Triplets; D014427:Twins; D014904:Western Australia / Q000453:epidemiology