Gage, Robert P.

Four groups of children were studied over periods of 1 to 14 years. Group 1 included 402 children who had been born after prolonged labor. Follow-up studies were made of 321 of the 402 children. Twelve children (3.7%) were noted to have convulsions, but only one child had a recurring convulsive disorder (epilepsy). The remainder had so-called febrile convulsions. No other persistent neurologic difficulties were found. Group 3 included 236 children who had asphyxia (anoxia) or delayed respiration at birth. Follow-up data were available on 180 children. The only resulting neurologic difficulties noted were febrile convulsions in two children. None had persistent convulsive disorders (epilepsy). Group 5 included 124 babies whose mothers had had toxemia of pregnancy. Fourteen were stillborn or died in early infancy. Four of the remaining 110 (3.6%) had a febrile convulsion at some time, but to our knowledge persistent convulsions did not develop. Groups 2 and 4 were control groups and included a total of 633 children, who were born after relatively short uncomplicated deliveries. Follow-up data were available for 498 of the children; among them 16 children (3.2%) had convulsions at some time, and 13 of the 16 had convulsions at some time between the ages of 8 and 14 years. No other persistent neurologic conditions were found. Four children had recurring convulsive disorders and four others had a single convulsion or occasional convulsion of unknown etiology. Eight others had so-called febrile convulsions. No other persistent neurologic conditions were found. The findings of the present study reinforce the conclusions in the previous report from this clinic—that prolonged labor, asphyxia, or delayed respiration at birth did not cause any neurologic abnormality in children who survive the early months of life, and that convulsions of any type are not commoner among children who had difficulty at birth than among children who did not have difficulty at birth.