My aunt got beat while she was pregnant. now her child may have cerebral palsy. could that be the cause?

Possibly: If injury to the placenta or uterus occurred, there is a possibility that the trauma could be at the root of the child's problems.

Hard to say: In the largest longitudinal study to date on this subject, following 50k kids through pregnancy to age 7, no specific cause for the CP was identified.To event in pregnancy, labor, delivery or the first 3 years was identified in more than half the cases.While the beating might have influenced the outcome, the baby may have been protected by the bag of waters and placenta.