According to a study involving researchers at the University of Utah, mothers at high risk of giving birth prematurely may reduce their child's risk of cerebral palsy by taking magnesium sulfate.

The New England Journal of Medicine conducted this study with 2,241 pregnant women from across the United States. Most of the women had preterm ruptured membranes before labor. Prior to delivery, they were randomly given intravenous magnesium sulfate or a placebo.

Doctors use magnesium sulfate to stop premature labor, but the treatment is only moderately effective, said Michael W. Varner, professor and vice chair for research in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Utah.

However, researchers began to get curious about its potential to combat cerebral palsy after analyzing California birth certificates. The research showed that premature babies whose mothers were exposed to magnesium sulfate during birth had reduced rates of cerebral palsy.

Christi Johnson, of Spanish Fork agreed to participate in the study in 2004, when she was told that her son Tagger would be born prematurely. The boy is now a healthy 4-year-old, but was born at 31 weeks and weighed only 3 pounds.

The rate of babies who are born at full-term is 1 in 1,000. However, for premature babies, the rate is 20 to 50 in 1,000.

This study was provided with funds by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders.

For more information about cerebral palsy, visit http://www.ucp.org