Your Child has Cerebral Palsy - You Deserve Help, Advice & Benefits!

Most of the brain injuries which cause cerebral palsy can be prevented when doctors and other health care professionals properly monitor the mother and fetus during pregnancy and delivery.

NJ, January 06, 2008 - Cerebral palsy is a birth injury which is almost always preventable. It is caused by brain injury to a baby during pregnancy, childbirth, or shortly after birth, which affects muscle control and can cause learning disabilities. With proper medical care and therapy, some children with cerebral palsy can lead fairly normal lives, but most children require life-long care.

Causes
Most of the brain injuries which cause cerebral palsy can be prevented when doctors and other health care professionals properly monitor the mother and fetus during pregnancy and delivery. Doctors should always be on the lookout for the conditions and circumstances which can cause birth brain injury. Causes of birth brain injury include:
· Infection in mother or baby during pregnancy
· Toxicity from inappropriate medications during pregnancy
· Kidney and urinary tract infections in the mother
· Rh incompatibility
· Lack of oxygen
· Bleeding in the brain
· Severe jaundice
· Stroke
· Failure to respond to fetal distress
· Umbilical cord strangulation
· Unreasonable delay in performing a c-section
· Inappropriate use of forceps
· Failure to treat infant seizures

Symptoms and effects of cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy will affect each child differently, but there are some common problems which it is known to cause. These include:
· Impaired speech
· Learning disabilities
· Visual impairment
· Hearing impairment
· Difficulty walking
· Incontinence
· Difficulty eating
· Drooling
· Limited motor skills
· Paralysis
· Seizures

Types of cerebral palsy
Different types of cerebral palsy have different physical effects on a child.

Spastic. Spastic cerebral palsy is the most common form. It makes the muscles too tight causing stiff jerky movements. This can affect different parts of the body:
· Monoplegia affects only one arm or one leg
· Diplegia affects both arms or both legs
· Hemiplegia affects the arm and leg on one side of the body
· Triplegia affects both arms and one leg or both legs and one arm
· Quadriplegia affects both arms and both legs

Ataxic. Having the opposite effect of spastic cerebral palsy, ataxic cerebral palsy causes the muscles to be weak and can cause difficulty walking and maintaining balance.

Athetoid. In athetoid cerebral palsy the muscles alternate between being too weak and too tight. This can cause involuntary movements and make it difficult to stay upright.

Caring for a child with cerebral palsy
Children with cerebral palsy require extensive medical treatment, therapy and long-term care. Physical, emotional, and cognitive impairment can range from mild to extreme, requiring a variety of treatment methods and approaches. Children with cerebral palsy often require:
· Physical therapy
· Speech therapy
· Occupational therapy
· Psychological treatment
· Surgery
· Medications to prevent seizures
· Full time in-home care or institutionalization