Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a condition that can disable your child physically and cognitively. It is caused by a brain injury to your baby during pregnancy, delivery, or shortly after delivery. The effects are different in each child. There is no cure for CP, but there are treatment options that can improve your child’s ability to function and their quality of life. CP does not get worse over time, but can cause other serious health problems. Caring for a child with CP is very expensive, and many children with CP will never be able to live independently.

Effects of Cerebral Palsy

CP affects each child differently. Some children suffer physical impairment with no cognitive impairment. Although mental retardation is not the same thing as CP, more than half of children with CP also have learning disabilities or mental retardation. CP primarily affects muscle control. Effects of CP can include:

• Spasms
• Muscle weakness
• Lack of motor skills
• Seizures
• Behavioral problems
• Learning disabilities
• Hearing problems
• Vision problems
• Speech problems
• Gastroesophageal reflux (GERD)
• Food aspiration
• Drooling
• Sleep disorders
• Tooth decay
• Osteoporosis

Cerebral Palsy Causes

CP is often a birth injury. It is caused by a brain injury. The brain injury can have many causes. Typically, the brain injury involves a lack of oxygen to the brain. Medical malpractice leading to cerebral palsy can include action or inaction on the part of a doctor or other health care practitioner that either caused a lack of oxygen or other harm to your baby’s brain, failure to respond to a situation causing lack of oxygen, or failure to recognize and respond to warning signs that would have given them a chance to prevent or stop the problem before it caused harm.

Causes of cerebral palsy can include:

• Infection in the mother during pregnancy, including, but not limited to kidney and urinary tract infections
• Infection in the baby during pregnancy
• Inappropriate administration of medications during pregnancy and delivery, including Pitocin, a drug used to induce or speed up labor
• Rh incompatibility
• Umbilical cord strangulation
• Bleeding in the brain
• Stroke in the mother or baby
• Seizures in the mother or baby
• Failure to properly monitor the fetus
• Failure to respond to fetal distress
• Delayed C-section or failure to perform C-section when needed
• Inappropriate use of forceps
• Failure to administer oxygen to the baby when needed
• Severe jaundice

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