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Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral palsy is a general term for a group of disorders that appear during the first few years of life and affect a child's ability to coordinate body movements. Cerebral palsy can cause muscles to be weak and floppy, or spastic, rigid and stiff.
In Europe and the United States, cerebral palsy occurs in about two to four out of every 1,000 births. The disorder is usually caused by brain injuries that occur early in the course of development.
In other circumstances, an infant's brain suffers injuries when it is deprived of oxygen (a severe case of this anoxia/hypoxia is called hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy or intrapartum asphyxia) during labor and delivery. The following factors may lead to complications during childbirth that increase a newborn's risk of developing cerebral palsy:
- Premature Birth
- Breech birth (baby is delivered buttocks first rather than head first)
- Low birth weight (less than 3 1/3 pounds)
- Difficult labor and delivery
In general, children with cerebral palsy exhibit a wide variety of signs and symptoms, ranging from mild to severe. They may include:
- Lack of muscle coordination when performing voluntary movements (ataxia)
- Stiff muscles and exaggerated reflexes (spasticity or spastic quadriplegia - considered the most severe form of cerebral palsy)
- Asymmetrical walking gait, with one foot or leg dragging
- Variations in muscle tone, from too stiff to too floppy
- Excessive drooling or difficulties swallowing, sucking or speaking
- Tremors
- Difficulty with precise motions, such as writing or buttoning a shirt
- Premature Birth
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