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A retrospective review was done of fetal and newborn deaths at Chicago Lying-in Hospital between 1986-1999 where the mothers had been exposed to magnesium sulfate for preterm labor. The University of Chicago researchers found that fetuses and newborns exposed through their mothers to a dose of more than 48 grams of mag sulfate had 4.7 times the likelihood of dying than those who were exposed to lower doses. The greatest risk group was fetuses and infants who weighed less than 1250 grams but more than 699 grams (roughly a range of 1.7 pounds to 2.75 pounds). The researchers said 48 grams translated to about a one-day exposure to mag sulfate.
The researchers controlled for birth weight, gestational age, year of delivery, receipt of betamethasone (steroid to mature baby's lungs), acute maternal disease and maternal race. The researchers reviewed the records of 40,896 infants born during the studied time frame and found 207 whose mothers had received mag sulfate for preterm labor. Women who received mag sulfate for pre-eclampsia were excluded, as were fetuses and newborns with major congenital anomalies.
Source: Scudiero, Rebecca, et al., "Perinatal Death and Tocolytic Magnesium Sulfate," Obstetrics and Gynecology 2000, Vol. 96, pp. 178-182.
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