Cerebral palsy causes
Cerebral palsy is a collection of different chronic conditions that affect muscle coordination and how the body moves. The condition is the result of brain damage, the cerebral part of the name, while the palsy part of the condition comes from the fact that the muscles and movement are affected. In children, this may result in the inability to talk, walk, play, or even eat in the same way as others.
Cerebral palsy is not a communicable or progressive condition. It is also not a disease or an illness. However, it is not technically curable, either—the brain damage is permanent and cannot be reverse. However, therapy, new types of technology, and education can allow those with cerebral palsy to lead normal or near-normal lives. Despite this, however, they will always have a number of different muscle and coordination issues. The areas affected may be different depending on what parts of the brain have been damaged. Someone with cerebral palsy may experience involuntary twitches and movement, seizures, muscle tightness, spasms, abnormal sensations or feelings in their body, impaired hearing, speech, or sight, and a disturbance in mobility and the way they walk.
Let’s take a more in-depth look at what causes cerebral palsy. Most often, cerebral palsy is caused by an injury to the brain before, during, or right after a child is born. This means most people with cerebral palsy deal with it for their entire lives. While the answer to what causes cerebral palsy is simple (brain damage) the real question is what causes the brain damage. Unfortunately, in most cases, it may be impossible to determine the exact cause, nor is it possible to determine what, if anything, could have been done to prevent it. However, there are usually two issues that are at the root of cerebral palsy. One is neurological damage to the child’s developing brain. The other is the failure of the child’s brain to develop as it should.
The severity of the damage to the brain depends on when and how serious the injury is. In premature babies, for example, an intraventricular hemorrhage, or bleeding in the brain, can cause severe damage to the brain. Likewise, if a baby is unable to get the oxygen he or she needs, the brain can be horribly damaged.
Up to fifteen percent of all cerebral palsy cases are caused by a recognized type of brain injury. In addition to bleeding or a lack of oxygen, other issues can include an infection or having the umbilical cord getting wrapped around the neck. Often, however, brain damage that occurs during birth can be prevented. Medical errors are often responsible for these occurrences, but it can be impossible for a parent to know if their child’s cerebral palsy was caused by medical malpractice. If you believe this to be the case, you may need to hire a lawyer who specializes in medical malpractice suits.
There are some risk factors that may increase your child’s change of being born with cerebral palsy. While a risk factor isn’t an actual cause, it can contribute to a cause. These risk factors can be associated with either the mother or with the child. For parents, risk factors include the mother being older than 40 or younger than 20, the father being under 20, or the mother or father being of African-American ethnicity. When it comes to the child, risk factors include being either the child being the first or the fifth or later child, being a twin, having a birth weight of less than 4 pounds, or being premature. A few other risk factors include the mother having an infection or illness during pregnancy.
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