Can prolonged maternal fever cause cerebral palsy?
Researchers do not say that every long‑lasting fever in pregnancy directly causes cerebral palsy, but they do see **prolonged maternal fever as a warning sign** because it often points to an underlying infection or inflammatory problem that can increase a baby’s risk of brain injury and later cerebral palsy.
To understand this better, it helps to look at how cerebral palsy develops and how fever fits into the picture.
What is cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy is a long term movement and posture disorder caused by damage to the developing brain, usually before birth, during labor, or in the first years of life.https://www.nationalbirthinjurylaw.com/what-causes-cerebral-palsy It affects muscle tone, coordination, and sometimes speech, vision, and learning. The key point is that the brain injury is early, not something that happens in adulthood.
The most common pathways to this brain injury include:
• lack of oxygen to the baby’s brain
• bleeding in the brain
• stroke in the fetus or newborn
• serious infections and inflammation affecting the brain
• severe jaundice and some genetic or metabolic conditionshttps://www.sokolovelaw.com/birth-injuries/cerebral-palsy/causes/https://www.nationalbirthinjurylaw.com/what-causes-cerebral-palsy
Where maternal fever comes in
Fever itself is usually a sign that the immune system is fighting an infection. During pregnancy, certain infections that cause fever can cross the placenta or trigger strong inflammation in the uterus and placenta. That inflammation can disturb blood flow and oxygen delivery to the baby’s brain or directly injure brain cells.
Several medical and legal‑medicine reviews list **maternal fever and untreated maternal infections** as risk factors for cerebral palsy.https://www.sokolovelaw.com/birth-injuries/cerebral-palsy/causes/https://www.pediatricorthopedicdoctor.in/2025/12/25/severe-infections-in-infants-leading-to-cerebral-palsy-causes-early-signs-and-prevention/ These sources do not claim that fever alone is the cause; they focus on the **infection and inflammation behind the fever**.
Infections in the mother that are linked to cerebral palsy
Several maternal infections are frequently mentioned as increasing the risk of brain injury and cerebral palsy when they are not identified and treated promptly. These include:
• cytomegalovirus (CMV)
• German measles (rubella)
• Zika virus
• herpes simplex
• syphilis
• toxoplasmosis
• urinary and genital tract infections
• chorioamnionitis, which is an infection of the membranes and placenta around the babyhttps://www.sokolovelaw.com/birth-injuries/cerebral-palsy/causes/https://www.pediatricorthopedicdoctor.in/2025/12/25/severe-infections-in-infants-leading-to-cerebral-palsy-causes-early-signs-and-prevention/
These illnesses can lead to:
• inflammation and swelling in fetal brain tissue
• reduced oxygen flow to the baby’s brain
• toxic substances from bacteria or viruses damaging brain cells
• fever in the mother and sometimes in the fetus, which can further stress brain functionhttps://www.pediatricorthopedicdoctor.in/2025/12/25/severe-infections-in-infants-leading-to-cerebral-palsy-causes-early-signs-and-prevention/
If these changes affect areas of the brain that control movement and posture, the child can later be diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
Prolonged fever as a marker of higher risk
A short, mild fever from something like a brief viral illness that is quickly treated and monitored in an otherwise healthy pregnancy is less likely to cause serious harm. The concern grows when:
• the fever is high and lasts a long time
• the fever is related to a serious infection such as chorioamnionitis, severe urinary tract infection, flu with complications, or sepsis
• the mother does not get timely care or antibiotics when needed
• the baby is already vulnerable, for example very premature or growth restrictedhttps://www.pediatricorthopedicdoctor.in/2025/12/25/severe-infections-in-infants-leading-to-cerebral-palsy-causes-early-signs-and-prevention/
One review of severe infections in early life explains that high fever, inflammation, and reduced oxygen flow act together to damage brain regions responsible for movement, muscle tone, and posture, which can result in cerebral palsy.https://www.pediatricorthopedicdoctor.in/2025/12/25/severe-infections-in-infants-leading-to-cerebral-palsy-causes-early-signs-and-prevention/ Maternal fever i
