ArticlePloS one2015
Association between antibiotic prescribing in pregnancy and cerebral palsy or epilepsy in children born at term: a cohort study using the health improvement network.
Article in PloS one, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 55 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence of systemic antibacterial use during pregnancy worldwide: A systematic review.PloS one · 2024Pooled it
- Prenatal exposure to antibiotics and risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in offspring: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2022Pooled it
- Associations between use of macrolide antibiotics during pregnancy and adverse child outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2019Pooled it
- Extensive antibiotic use during early life and risk of frailty: a population-based cohort study in the UK biobank.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Unravelling the Gut-Microbiome-Brain Axis: Implications for Infant Neurodevelopment and Future Therapeutics.Current microbiology · 2025Review
- Association between exposure to antibiotics during pregnancy or early infancy and risk of autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disorder, language disorder, and epilepsy in children: population based cohort study.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2024Article
- Frontiers in the Etiology and Treatment of Preterm Premature Rupture of Membrane: From Molecular Mechanisms to Innovative Therapeutic Strategies.Reproductive sciences (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) · 2024Review
- Duration of Neonatal Antibiotic Exposure in Preterm Infants in Association with Health and Developmental Outcomes in Early Childhood.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Article
- Use of Azithromycin in Pregnancy: More Doubts than Certainties.Clinical drug investigation · 2022Review
- Treatment of Classic Mid-Trimester Preterm Premature Rupture of Membranes (PPROM) with Oligo/Anhydramnion between 22 and 26 Weeks of Gestation by Means of Continuous Amnioinfusion: Protocol of a Randomized Multicentric Prospective Controlled TRIAL and Review of the Literature.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Impact of antibiotics on the human microbiome and consequences for host health.MicrobiologyOpen · 2022Review
- The Effect of Long-Term or Repeated Use of Antibiotics in Children and Adolescents on Cognitive Impairment in Middle-Aged and Older Person(s) Adults: A Cohort Study.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2022Article
- Association Between Antenatal Antimicrobial Therapy and Autism Spectrum Disorder-A Nested Case-Control Study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Article
- Inflammation in Mental Disorders: Is the Microbiota the Missing Link?Neuroscience bulletin · 2020Review
- ISUOG Interim Guidance on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during pregnancy and puerperium: information for healthcare professionals - an update.Ultrasound in obstetrics & gynecology : the official journal of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology · 2020Article
- Associations between macrolide antibiotics prescribing during pregnancy and adverse child outcomes in the UK: population based cohort study.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2020Article
- National data opt out programme: consequences for maternity statistics in England.International journal of population data science · 2020Article
- Phages in Therapy and Prophylaxis of American Foulbrood - Recent Implications From Practical Applications.Frontiers in microbiology · 2020Review
- Antecedents of epilepsy and seizures among children born at extremely low gestational age.Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association · 2019Observational
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundBetween 19%-44% pregnant women are prescribed antibiotics during pregnancy. A single, large randomised-controlled-trial (ORACLE Childhood Study II) found an increased risk of childhood cerebral palsy and possibly epilepsy following prophylactic antibiotic use in pregnant women with spontaneous preterm labour. We ascertained whether this outcome could be reproduced across the population of babies delivered at term and prospectively followed in primary-care using data from The Health Improvement Network.
methodsWe determined the risk of cerebral palsy or epilepsy in children whose mothers were prescribed antibiotics during pregnancy using a cohort of 195,909 women linked to their live, term-born, singleton children. We compared the effect of antibiotic class, number of courses and timing of prescribing in pregnancy. Analyses were adjusted for maternal risk factors (e.g. recorded infection, age, chronic conditions, social deprivation, smoking status). Children were followed until age seven years or cessation of registration with the primary-care practitioner.
resultsIn total, 64,623 (33.0%) women were prescribed antibiotics in pregnancy and 1,170 (0.60%) children had records indicating cerebral palsy or epilepsy. Adjusted analyses showed no association between prescribing of any antibiotic and cerebral palsy or epilepsy (adj.HR 1.04, 95%CI 0.91-1.19). However, compared with penicillins, macrolides were associated with an increased risk of cerebral palsy or epilepsy (adj.HR 1.78, 95%CI 1.18-2.69; number needed to harm 153, 95%CI 71-671).
conclusionsWe found no overall association between antibiotic prescribing in pregnancy and cerebral palsy and/or epilepsy in childhood. However, our finding of an increased risk of cerebral palsy or epilepsy associated with macrolide prescribing in pregnancy adds to evidence that macrolide use is associated with serious harm.
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