Primary prevention methods for cerebral palsy (CP) focus on insuring a healthy pregnancy for the woman. This may include:

• Prenatal care to prevent premature birth. Although there are identifiable risk factors that indicate if a woman is more likely to deliver prematurely, there are no known methods of prevention. Perhaps the most important way to lower the risk of a premature birth is to receive early and adequate prenatal care. Women may be advised to maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle (e.g., avoiding alcohol and tobacco). Rh blood factor testing is necessary during the first trimester. In addition, consuming the recommended amount of prenatal vitamins, including folic acid, may reduce the risk of premature birth, as well as birth defects and other complications. If an obstetrician feels the woman is in danger of a pre-term birth, bed rest, fluids and labor-inhibiting medications may be prescribed.
  
  
• Immunizations to prevent viral and other systemic infections. Women who are planning to become pregnant may be advised to get immunized against German measles (rubella) if they have never had the disease. Pregnant women who have not been immunized may reduce the risk of exposure by limiting their contact with people who have not had the measles or other infectious viral diseases. Other infections to ward against include cytomegalovirus (CMV) and toxoplasmosis.
  
  
• Practice safe sex to prevent pelvic infections. Bacterial or viral infections of the woman’s urinary tract and reproductive system (vagina and uterus) may be prevented through the use of latex condoms during sexual intercourse.

For CP that develops in the first few years of a child’s life, prevention can focus on safeguarding the home against accidental drowning (by putting fencing around backyard swimming pools) and falls (by putting child safety equipment such as toddler gates to block the top of staircases). Use of car safety seats and infant carriers when transporting children in vehicles has been shown in numerous highway safety studies to prevent serious head trauma and injury during traffic accidents.