What causes Cerebral Palsy: Explained

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Complete Guide to Information What causes Cerebral Palsy

What causes Cerebral Palsy: Cerebral palsy refers to a neurological disorder that is caused by brain damage as a result of medical negligence during birth. The symptoms can start appearing in infancy or early childhood, CP affects body movement, and people with CP also have to face eye muscle imbalance, in which eyes don’t focus on the same object. They also have difficulties speaking. Several patients have intellectual disabilities, while some have average intelligence. You can file a cerebral palsy lawsuit to seek compensation for your child’s injuries. 

Table of Contents

Cerebral Palsy: Types

Spastic Cerebral Palsy – It is the most prevalent form where the muscles get stiffened or tightened. Spasticity is a type of hypertonia. It restricts muscle action and, in some cases, makes movement impossible. The patient’s mobility may appear rigid and jerky in this condition.

Spastic Cerebral Palsy has been classified into three more categories, as mentioned below –

  • Spastic Diplegia – In this, muscles of the area around the hips and legs become stiff, and because of this, the patient faces trouble walking.  
  • Spastic Hemiplegia – In this category, only one side of the body is affected. The affected side’s legs and arms might be shorter and thinner, which causes the patient to walk on their tiptoes. 
  • Spastic Quadriplegia – This one is the most serious form of Spastic CP where your limbs are affected, including thorax and face. The patient may also get seizures and also face trouble speaking. 

Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy – Patients with this kind of CP have either too loose or too tight muscle tonus. They face difficulty in controlling muscle movements. They have twitchy, too quick, or too slow and abrupt movements. And, if their mouth area gets affected, they might drool, glare, and have trouble speaking. 

Ataxic Cerebral Palsy – It’s the rarest type of CP where patients face problems with coordination and balance. The child might be unsteady or unable to balance your body while walking. Patients’ bodies might shake, which makes it hard for them to do things that demand steadiness, e.g. Writing. 

Mixed Cerebral Palsy – Patients diagnosed with this kind of CP have more than one type of symptom. Many people with mixed cerebral palsy have a mixture of symptoms from both Spastic and Dyskinetic CP. 

What causes Cerebral Palsy 

Doctors can’t always find out the exact reason behind what caused the damage to the brain. 

Some of the problems that can damage the brain or break its growth inside are mentioned below —

  1. Bleeding in the brain. It can be during or after birth.
  2. Insufficient amount of blood flow to the main organs. 
  3. Genetic conditions can also be the reason. 
  4. Intracranial injury or traumatic brain injury. 
  5. Having seizures at birth or the first month after the baby is born. 

Symptoms Of Cerebral Palsy 

Some symptoms may show up at birth, while several others may take longer to appear.  

Babies younger than six months may show these signs – 

  1. When your baby’s sleeping, and you pick them up on their back, their head lags. 
  2. They feel stiff or floppy. 
  3. While cradling in your arms, they overextend themselves. It may appear as if they are pushing away from you.

Babies older than six months — 

  1. They don’t roll over 
  2. They are unable to bring their hands together
  3. They face difficulty in bringing their hands to their mouth
  4. It will happen with only one hand while the other stays fisted when they try to reach you.

The suffering of parents of a child with cerebral palsy is unimaginable. You can contact your lawyer and file a cerebral palsy lawsuit against the hospital. On winning the case, the plaintiff will receive a well-deserved compensation for the emotional damage the family has dealt with and the lifelong medical bills of that child.

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