Cerebral Palsy Declines in High-Risk Infants

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"In the 1990s, people started using antenatal steroids," given to women before delivery, Hack said. Antenatal steroids decrease the incidence of brain hemorrhage in the babies, she noted.

But in the 1990s, pediatricians were giving steroids to many high-risk babies after birth. Those steroids helped the infants get off respirators faster, but they were also found to have a profoundly dangerous side effect, impairing brain development, Costello said.

"In about 2000, the American Academy of Pediatrics came out with a statement saying they didn't recommend that use of steroids," Costello said. "Some centers are still using them, but we use them infrequently and for a very short amount of time."

It will take time for U.S. statistics on cerebral palsy to emerge because "after children are born, it takes two years for an outcome that is reliable," Costello said.

"I suspect we will see reports that the incidence is lower, but they haven't come out yet," she said.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke can tell you more about cerebral palsy.