Cerebral palsy is a lifelong condition that affects movement, muscle tone, and posture. It happens when a baby’s developing brain is damaged or does not develop normally before birth, during labor, or shortly after delivery. Many different factors can increase the risk of cerebral palsy. In recent years, researchers have been asking an important question: is maternal obesity during pregnancy one of those factors?
What research says about maternal obesity and brain-related outcomes
Scientists have found that women who have obesity before pregnancy are more likely to have children with various neurodevelopmental disabilities. An article in Endocrinology Advisor reported that prepregnancy obesity was linked with higher risks of conditions such as intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorders in children, based on large population studies of mothers and their offspring (https://www.endocrinologyadvisor.com/news/maternal-obesity-neurodevelopmental-disorders/). These conditions are not the same as cerebral palsy, but they show that a child’s brain development can be affected by the mother’s health and weight before and during pregnancy.
News-Medical has also highlighted research showing that higher maternal body mass index (BMI) before pregnancy is associated with increased risks of childhood epilepsy and disability (https://www.news-medical.net/condition/Cerebral-Palsy). Epilepsy and global developmental disability often co-occur with cerebral palsy or share similar prenatal risk factors. This kind of evidence suggests that maternal obesity may be part of a broader pattern of risk for problems involving the developing brain.
Although not all of these studies focus only on cerebral palsy, they support the idea that the in-utero environment in pregnancies affected by obesity can influence brain structure and function. The U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) notes that obesity can affect pregnancy in several important ways, and it supports research on the short and long term effects of maternal obesity on both mothers and their children (https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/obesity/researchinfo). That includes work on how excess maternal weight and weight gain may relate to later developmental and learning problems.
How could maternal obesity affect cerebral palsy risk?
To understand a possible link with cerebral palsy, it helps to look at how cerebral palsy develops. The main known causes involve reduced oxygen or blood flow to the baby’s brain, bleeding in the brain, infection, severe jaundice, or abnormal brain development. Maternal obesity is not a direct injury like bleeding, but it can contribute to several pregnancy complications that are themselves known risk factors for cerebral palsy.
Researchers studying maternal cardiovascular and metabolic health in pregnancy have proposed several biological pathways that may connect a mother’s health to a baby’s brain development. A large study on maternal atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease reported that poor maternal vascular health may impair placental blood flow and oxygen and nutrient delivery to the fetus through endothelial dysfunction, systemic inflammation, oxidative stress, and metabolic disturbances (https://academic.oup.com/hropen/article/2025/4/hoaf074/8342467). Maternal obesity often occurs together with hypertension, insulin resistance, and other cardiovascular risk factors, so similar mechanisms may be relevant.
Some key mechanisms researchers discuss include:
1. Inflammation
Obesity is associated with chronic low grade inflammation in the body. During pregnancy, this may alter the inflammatory environment of the uterus and placenta. Inflammatory molecules can cross or affect the placenta and may interfere with normal brain development in the fetus. Prolonged or high levels of inflammation are one suspected contributor to white matter injury in the developing brain, a type of damage commonly seen in children with cerebral palsy.
2. Placental function and blood flow
Studies of maternal cardiovascular disease suggest that problems with the mother’s blood vessels can reduce uteroplacental blood flow and compromise the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the fetus (https://academic.oup.com/hropen/article/2025/4/hoaf074/8342467). Obesity is linked to higher rates of preeclampsia, gestational hypertension, and gestational diabetes, all of which can affect placental structure and function. Limited oxygen (chronic or acute) is a well recognized risk factor for brain injury that can lead to cerebral palsy.
3. Metabolic and hormonal changes
Maternal obesity often involves insulin resistance, abnormal lipid levels, and altered hormones. These metabolic changes may influence how the fetal brain forms and how neural connections are shaped. High blood sugar and related complications, such as fetal overgrowth or preterm birth, can also set the stage for delivery complications, which in turn may contribute to cerebral palsy risk.
4. Increased obstetric and neonatal complications
Women with obesity are more likely to experience complications including preeclampsia, cesarean delivery, shoulder dystocia, and emergency operative births, as reported by organizations like NICHD (https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/obesity/researchinfo). Complicated or traumatic deliveries and severe prematurity are both established risk factors for cerebral palsy. Even if obesity is not the direct cause, it may increase the likelihood of a chain of events that ends in brain injury.
What do specific studies say about obesity and cerebral palsy?
Not every study on maternal obesity looks specifically at cerebral palsy as an outcome. More often, they group cerebral palsy together with other neurodevelopmental disabilities, or they focus on intermediate steps like preterm birth, low Apgar scores, or neonatal brain injury. The Endocrinology Advisor article, for example, describes a study where maternal obesity was linked with higher rates of intellectual disabilities, autism, and attention problems in offspring (https://www.endocrinologyadvisor.com/news/maternal-obesity-neurodevelopmental-disorders/). These conditions are different from cerebral palsy, but they share an origin in altered brain development.
Other research summarized by News-Medical points to increased risks of epilepsy and global disability in children of mothers with higher BMI ( { lazyloadBackgroundObserver.observe( lazyloadBackground ); } ); }; const events = [ 'DOMContentLoaded', 'elementor/lazyload/observe', ]; events.forEach( ( event ) => { document.addEventListener( event, lazyloadRunObserver ); } );