title: Cerebral palsy and neonatal death in term singletons born small for gestational age.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the probable timing of events leading to cerebral palsy (CP) in singletons born small for gestational age (SGA) at term, taking neonatal death into consideration.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this registry-based cohort study, data on 400 488 singletons born during 1996-2003 were abstracted from the Medical Birth and the CP registries of Norway. Among 36 604 SGA children (birth weight <10th percentile), 104 died in the neonatal period and 69 developed CP. Apgar scores at 5 minutes, risk factors, MRI findings, and CP subtypes were used to assess the timing of events leading to CP or neonatal death.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Intrapartum origin of CP was considered in 5 SGA children (7%; 95% confidence interval: 3-16) in comparison with 31 of 263 (12%; 95% confidence interval: 8-16) non-SGA children (P = .28). The proportions of children who died in the neonatal period after a probable intrapartum event did not differ between the groups when children with congenital malformations were excluded. Probable antenatal events leading to CP and neonatal death were more common among SGA than non-SGA children (P < .001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In ~90% of children born SGA the event leading to CP is of probable antenatal origin. The low proportion of SGA children with CP after a probable intrapartum event was not outweighed by a higher neonatal mortality rate when congenital malformations were excluded. The higher risk of CP among SGA than among non-SGA children is probably due to a higher prevalence of antenatal risk factors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Children's and Women's Health, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway. magne.stoknes@gmail.com
authors.forename: Magne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stoknes
authors.forename: Guro L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Andersen
authors.forename: Magnus Odin
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Dahlseng
authors.forename: Jon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Skranes
authors.forename: Kjell Å
authors.initials: KÅ
authors.lastname: Salvesen
authors.forename: Lorentz M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Irgens
authors.forename: Jennifer J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Kurinczuk
authors.forename: Torstein
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Vik
mesh_terms: D001034:Apgar Score; D001724:Birth Weight; D002423:Cause of Death; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000401:mortality*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D000013:Congenital Abnormalities / Q000401:mortality; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005317:Fetal Growth Retardation / Q000401:mortality; D005865:Gestational Age; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007236:Infant, Small for Gestational Age; D008297:Male; D009664:Norway; D007744:Obstetric Labor Complications / Q000401:mortality; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000401:mortality; D012042:Registries; D012307:Risk Factors; D012985:Software Design; D050497:Stillbirth