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Cerebral Palsy Risk Factors and Causes

What Causes Cerebral Palsy? 

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of chronic conditions affecting body movement and muscle coordination.  CP is caused by an injury to the brain before, during, or shortly after birth; or during infancy.  In some cases, the cause of the brain injury is unknown. However in many instances cerebral palsy is a result of inappropriate delivery methods or medical mistakes. 

Infants born prematurely tend to be at higher risk of experiencing key symptoms that cause cerebral palsy.  Because the brain and other organs have not fully matured, complications such as severe bleeding or respiratory distress from underdeveloped lungs deprive the brain of oxygen and could cause cerebral palsy.  

During labor and delivery, unusual prolonged delays resulting in lack of oxygen to the brain or severe physical trauma to the mother or child may cause injury.  Medical professionals are trained to recognize signs that a fetus is in distress, and should know which measures are necessary when faced with such complications. 

There are many factors that can injure the developing brain and may produce cerebral palsy. A risk factor is not a cause; it is a variable that may increase the chance of cerebral palsy occurring.  Even though a risk factor is present, it does not mean cerebral palsy will occur; likewise, the absence of a risk factor does not mean that cerebral palsy will not occur. If a risk factor is present, parents and physicians should be even more observant to the infant's development. The following risk factors may 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
• Difficult labor and delivery
• Infection or virus of the mother during pregnancy
• RH or A-B-O blood type incompatibility between mother and infant
• Fetal growth or development issues

It is very important that you understand that a birth injury caused during delivery in many cases could have been the result of Medical negligence, and therefore could have been prevented.  It would be virtually impossible for a parent, on their own, to determine if medical negligence caused their child's cerebral palsy or brain damage.

Start the process of getting your birth injury legal questions surrounding your child’s birth answered.

Learn how to identify the symptoms of cerebral palsy.