Patient's question:
A friend of mine has a child suffering from cerebral palsy for over a year. The friend has tried many methods of treatment, but it hasn't been cured yet. The child is still dull and slow-witted. What are the dangers of cerebral palsy?Doctor's answer:
There are many reasons why children may develop cerebral palsy. The following is a summary: parental smoking, alcoholism, drug abuse, maternal mental illness, diabetes during pregnancy, vaginal bleeding, high blood pressure diseases that complicate pregnancy, placenta previa, threatened miscarriage, or the use of contraceptives or infertility drugs; high birth weight, premature birth, history of miscarriage, twins or multiple births, fetal growth retardation, intrauterine infection, fetal distress, placental abruption, placental dysfunction, nuchal cord, forceps delivery, prolonged breech delivery, postpartum asphyxial pneumonia in premature or low birth weight infants, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, kernicterus, intracranial hemorrhage, infection, toxicity, and malnutrition.