Etiology of Cerebral Palsy and Methods to Prevent It

Cerebral palsy, or CP, is a disorder which leads to various neurological problems. There are certain standard symptoms of this disease like difficulty in muscular movements, stiffness of muscles, spasticity of muscles, lowered muscle coordination, complications in walking, involuntary movements etc. The severity of the disorder varies from person to person. It may be severe in some individuals where the patient needs to be totally dependent on others. Some may be capable of living independent life. Medical research has proven that around 90 percent of cases occur before birth. Some of the factors which include in etiology of cerebral palsy are low birth weight, bacterial infections, and blood incompatibility. The risk of cerebral palsy also might increase if the mother is suffering from chicken pox, toxoplasmosis, or from syphilis etc.

The mother should be vaccinated in order to prevent chicken pox or measles during pregnancy. Sexual disease like syphilis can also be prevented which leads to cerebral palsy if left untreated. This disease can also be developed due to stroke experienced at the time of pregnancy. Exposure to encephalitis is also another cause of this particular disorder. At times pregnant woman would get exposed to certain chemical accidentally and this would also result in cerebral palsy by affecting brain development of the child.

The above mentioned factors are the potential etiology of cerebral palsy. These etiologies can be prevented by a regular physician visits or by certain very simple precautions. A pregnant lady should always avoid toxins or any chemicals. Immunization records and fetus blood compatibility must be tracked on a regular basis during pregnancy. As gestational diabetes is believed to be one of the causes of CP even this diabetes should be avoided in order to prevent CP. All in all a pregnant woman must avoid consuming unapproved medications and also must treat even a minor infection.

Medical science has yet not found a cure for Cerebral Palsy. The treatment generally given to the patients is to prevent complications that could occur due to this disease, not to remove it, since that may very well prove to be impossible. There are organizations which help affected children, learn to overcome their difficulties using a system of learning called Conductive Education, but this is limited to very few countries in Europe. Hopefully in the future, this will become more widespread, but this therapy is still in it's infantile stages, and has not yet made it to the United States.

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Etiology of Cerebral Palsy - Commonly Observed Factors in Cerebral Palsy Etiology

Cerebral Palsy is not just a single disease with one origin. This disorder stems from multiple causes which results in a group of disorder. When it comes to etiology of cerebral palsy there are various factors to be considered. The factors like alcohol and drugs, premature birth, maternity infections etc come into the picture. Let us now discus some of these factors in detail. Long labor usually causes health problems in newborns. This health problem may also include cerebral palsy by causing a brain damage in newborn. There are two important factors which cause the potential risk of prolonged labor. Suppose your baby is stuck in birth canal and experiences lack of oxygen supply then there are high chances of occurrence of CP. If you have not delivered within 24 hours of your water breakage then such scenario may lead to cerebral palsy. Hence both of these risk factors extend the labor and hence damages newborn's brain.

Most of the women are not aware of the fact that baby protection starts before one's conception. If a woman is addicted to alcohol or smoke or any other illicit drug then it means that she is taking the risk of developing cerebral palsy in her child which would result in permanent or in some devastating lifelong health problems.

Consumption of alcohol during pregnancy can be considered as an etiology of cerebral palsy. The baby cannot fight against the ill effects occurred due to alcohol consumption at the time of its growth in the womb. Consumption of drugs at maternity seriously affects the newborn's nervous system, internal organs and blood vessels. This in turn increases the chance of brain damage and the low birth weight. The premature birth of a baby is one of the main causes of cerebral palsy. One can avoid such situations only by undergoing a thorough health checkup during pregnancy and a little bit of extra care would help your baby stay away from such complications.

The other concern that is less obvious is that you should always look for the most experienced OBGYN you can find during your pregnancy. They can offer a lot of good advice about your individual case, such as whether you should be eating more or less, or what kinds of foods might best compliment what you're already doing. Everyone is unique, and finding the best balance can make you as healthy as possible before birth. In addition, many cases of CP are caused by doctor error, so picking the best doctor really helps minimize risk.

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