A recent report suggests that trauma to the abdomen in pregnant women may be a cause of cerebral palsy and epilepsy in newborns. Researchers at the Genetics and Prenatal Diagnostic Center in Signal Mountain, Tennessee, say even slight pressure on a mother's abdomen can cause "remarkable compression and movement of fetal parts." Authors say the findings suggest that blunt trauma to the mother's abdomen can be transmitted directly to the head of a fetus, and may cause significant head injury that could results in cerebral palsy and epilepsy. The report was presented at annual meeting of the American College of Medical Genetics meeting in Miami (March, 1999).