Neurologic Complications in Multiple Pregnancy - Is It Possible To Reduce the Incidence? What Are the Implications for Practice?

摘要

Cerebral Palsy (CP) is a chronic non-progressive symptom complex with an incidence of 1/500 births characterized by aberrant control of movement and posture. Less than 15% of cases are thought to be secondary to birth asphyxia. Additional causes of CP include low birth weight, prematurity, genetic predispositions, infection, and multiple gestations.In the United States, the incidence of twin and higher-order multiples has been increasing since the late 1980s, and multi-fetal gestations now comprise 3% of all pregnancies. Meanwhile, twins alone are thought to account for 5-10% of all CP cases. Understanding why multiple gestations are prone to neurologic morbidity is paramount to designing and implementing prevention strategies.