Cerebral Palsy is a set of disorders caused by abnormal development of a child’s brain during pregnancy or damage to the brain during the early years. It affects a child’s ability to move or control their muscles and maintain balance and posture. Palsy means weakness of the muscles or problems using the muscles. Cerebral Palsy is concerned with damage or abnormality in those areas of the brain that control body movement.
Cerebral Palsy is one of the most common disabilities in children. Around 10,000 children are born with cerebral palsy each year in the United States, and nearly 1500 toddlers are diagnosed with cerebral palsy each year. Most cerebral palsy cases are congenital, with around 90% of children born with this disorder.
Symptoms of Cerebral Palsy
Symptoms of Cerebral Palsy can be mild to severe depending on the amount of damage to the brain. A child with mild cerebral palsy may have some issues while walking or moving their limbs, while children with severe symptoms may require special equipment to walk or may not be able to walk at all. Severe cases of cerebral palsy require lifelong care. Other symptoms include:
- Delayed motor skills milestones like sitting without support, kicking, crawling, and holding things.
- Seizures
- Spasticity, or muscles that are too stiff
- Drooling and problems swallowing food
- Ataxia, or lack of muscle coordination
- Speech delays
- Tremors
- Low IQ, weak eyesight, and blindness
Causes of Cerebral Palsy
Although the exact cause of Cerebral Palsy is unknown, Cerebral Palsy is diagnosed in most children with abnormal brain development or brain injury during pregnancy or after birth. Here are some major causes of congenital Cerebral Palsy:
Injuries during Birth
Brain injuries resulting from birth malpractice by doctors, nurses, and midwives are a common cause of brain damage that lead to Cerebral Palsy. Careless mistakes by health care professionals during birth, such as exerting excessive force, not performing C-sections when needed, and improper use of forceps or vacuum delivery, results in severe brain injuries in a child. In such cases, parents can file birth injury malpractice lawsuits against the doctor, the staff, and the hospital.
Atypical Brain Development
Abnormal brain development can cause Cerebral Palsy, among other possible mental and physical disorders. Gene mutation or genetic disorders, malnutrition of the mother, infections, high-grade fever, and lack of oxygen to the brain result in atypical brain development. The abnormalities in the brain impede the normal transmission of brain signals and cause Cerebral Palsy.
Bleeding into the Brain
The most common cause of brain bleeding is stroke in a fetus during pregnancy. When the brain vessels in the brain break or become blocked, a fetal suffers from a stroke inside the mother’s womb. Strokes can damage the brain and affect parts responsible for limb movements and gross and fine motor skills. In severe cases of stroke, fetal death may occur.
Many factors may cause bleeding into the brain during and after birth. It includes trauma during childbirth or severe injury to the head due to accidents. Conditions including heart defects, abnormal formation of blood vessels, sickle cell disease, and blood clotting problems are the major causes of bleeding in the brain before and after birth.
Damage to the White Matter of the Brain
A fetus may suffer from damage to the brain’s white matter during pregnancy. The white matter is more prone to injury between 26-34 weeks of pregnancy. Trauma, maternal infections, and intrauterine inflammation lead to a fetal inflammatory response. This response may result in premature childbirth and damage the brain’s white matter. When the white matter of a fetus’s brain is damaged, it causes gaps in the brain tissue and disrupts the normal transmission of brain signals.
Lack of Oxygen in the Brain
The brain is most affected when there is insufficient oxygen for a long time. Lack of oxygen, also called asphyxia, in a child under two years or a growing fetus can instantly affect the brain’s function and may result in cerebral palsy. Uterus infections causing a tear in the uterus, detachment of the placenta, compressed umbilical cord, severe case of nuchal cord, critically low blood pressure and oxygen levels in the mother, or birth malpractice can result in lack of oxygen in the fetal brain. Difficult labor or delivery may also result in asphyxiation and cause Cerebral Palsy.
Other Miscellaneous Causes for Cerebral Palsy
Other causes of Cerebral Palsy in fetuses and newborns include:
- Infant infections that cause inflammation in or around the brain, including meningitis and viral encephalitis
- A head injury to an infant
- Untreated jaundice
- Maternal infections and conditions like seizures, preeclampsia, and thyroid issues can trigger inflammations in the fetal brain.
Risk Factors
Some medical conditions and factors increase the chances of Cerebral Palsy in a child. These are called risk factors. Although these factors do not always lead to cerebral palsy, they increase the risk of a child developing congenital CP or showing signs of CP in the early years. Here are some important risk factors for congenital Cerebral Palsy:
Premature Birth
Babies born prematurely are at a higher risk of developing Cerebral Palsy. A mother’s womb provides the right environment and nutrition to the baby for brain development. When a child is born prematurely, the normal brain development slows down, and there is a high probability of atypical brain development, which may lead to cerebral palsy.
Low Birth Weight
Low birth weight may also contribute to the development of Cerebral Palsy in infants. The normal range of birth weight of a newborn is between 5.5 to 10 pounds (2.5kg to 4.5 kg). Infants with lower than normal birth weight are at a higher risk of developing Cerebral Palsy, which increases as the weight drops.
Birth Complications
Difficult or prolonged labor, birth malpractices, and problems during childbirth may lead to severe brain injury to the child. The movement of the fetus inside the womb after the water breaks or uterine rupture can also cause brain injuries.
Multiple Births
Twins, triplets, and quadruplets are often born premature or with low birth weight and thus develop a high risk of CP. The chance of developing Cerebral Palsy in multiple births increases if one of the babies expires before or shortly after birth.
How to Prevent Cerebral Palsy in the Fetus
There are no cure or prevention techniques since the exact cause of Cerebral Palsy is unknown. However, there are certain measures that doctors and mothers can take to prevent brain injuries and damage in the fetus to help reduce the risk of developing cerebral palsy.
The best way to prevent Cerebral Palsy is to stay healthy. Taking preventive measures to control a mother’s health reduces the chance of cerebral palsy. These measures include proper vaccination, regular scans, a healthy lifestyle, minimizing unnecessary outside exposure, and regular checkups.
If either of the parents has a family history of mental disorders or Cerebral Palsy, regular MRI scans of the fetus may be required to monitor brain development. The first couple of years of a child’s life is extremely important for normal brain development. You should ensure maximum protection of the child from severe head injuries or accidents. Make sure your child gets vaccinated on the due dates. Please encourage your child to eat healthy food and give them supplements to nurture normal brain growth.
Cerebral Palsy has no definite treatment, but proper therapies and medical treatment can prevent further complications. If you notice symptoms of Cerebral Palsy in your child or if a head injury occurs, head to your doctor and share your concerns.
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