What we learned about the role of antenatal magnesium sulfate for the prevention of cerebral palsy.

Based on the convincing case control study of Nelson and Grether which suggested that the administration of magnesium sulfate to mothers prior to early preterm birth might protect their offspring from cerebral palsy, and a pilot study by John Hauth et al. at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network, with co-funding from the National Institute of Neurologic Disorders and Stroke embarked on the Beneficial Effects of Antenatal Magnesium (BEAM) Trial in 1997.