Transient sixth cranial nerve paralysis in the newborn infant

During a three months period 472 newborns between the fourth and eighth day of life were examined neurologically. Three of them had lateral rectus muscle paralysis. Two of the three were delivered by forceps. A follow up examination in six weeks showed that ocular movements spontaneously returned to normal. The children developed normally without neurological or ophthalmological sequelae. The cause and the localisation of the lesion will be discussed.