Patient's question:
My little baby was born a few months ago, but recently I noticed he cries much more than usual, has difficulty sucking while feeding, and is muscle-stiff. So I immediately took him to the hospital for a thorough examination. The doctor said it was cerebral palsy. I want to explore and learn more about this disease—what are the symptoms of cerebral palsy besides the ones he has, and how could he have gotten sick right after birth? Thank you, doctor.What kind of help is needed: What causes cerebral palsy in children?
Doctor's answer:
There are several causes of cerebral palsy in children, which can be specifically summarized as follows: parents smoking, drug abuse, substance use, maternal mental illness, gestational diabetes, vaginal bleeding, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, placenta previa, threatened miscarriage, or the use of fertility drugs or medication for maintaining pregnancy; a history of high parity, preterm birth, miscarriage, multiple pregnancies (twins or more), fetal growth retardation, intrauterine infection, fetal distress, placental abruption, placental dysfunction, umbilical cord, forceps delivery, breech presentation with prolonged labor, low birth weight infants born prematurely or postterm, postnatal respiratory distress and aspiration pneumonia, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, kernicterus, intracranial hemorrhage, infection, toxicity, and malnutrition.