The drugs each increased the risk when given singly but to a lesser degree, the Oracle study carried out by the University of Leicester of more than 4,000 pregnant women found. The researchers now add that the drugs shouldn't be given to women who show signs of premature labor unless there is clear evidence of an infection.
The scientists studied children at age 7 who were born to 4,221 women who delivered early and were given antibiotics while their waters remained intact. About 4.6 percent of children born to women who received both antibiotics developed the condition, compared with 1.6 percent who received a placebo, researchers said in the journal the Lancet.
While premature birth alone raises the overall risk of cerebral palsy, a neurological disorder that affects muscle tone and hampers movement and posture, the doctors now say that new guidelines should be issued for administration of antibiotics.
The women were given erythromycin, co- amoxiclav, a placebo, or both antibiotics. None of the participants had an obvious infection.
