Cerebral palsy in babies

The early childhood of a baby will completely be dependent on others for their security and protection. Protecting the babies from injuries and teaching the most wanted activities is the most important responsibility of the family members of the child. Injury like asphyxia will damage the brain in various ways and become the number one cause for cerebral palsy in babies.

The three most common causes of asphyxia in the babies are: choking of foreign substances likes toys and pieces of hard food (including peanuts, popcorn etc), poisoning, and trauma.

Babies may have to be protected from the dangerous substances otherwise they may take the toxic substance like lead, mercury, other poisons, or harming chemicals, which could cause neurological damage and cerebral palsy in babies.

A child who becomes a victim of an accident or physical abuse may get severe injury to the brain and it may result in cerebral palsy. Shaken baby syndrome or shaking the baby too vigorously is the other form of child maltreatment, by which the brain may get affected and lead to cerebral palsy in babies.

Infections like meningitis or encephalitis can also injure the brain in this age group. Meningitis is an inflammation of the meninges (brain coverings and spinal cord), which generally happens due to bacterial infection.

Encephalitis is a brain inflammation caused by viral or bacterial infections. These infections can result in many disabilities ranging from hearing impairment to cerebral palsy in babies and may even cause mental retardation in babies.

Jaundice is a disease, and the severe condition of jaundice affects the brain of the babies very badly. The identification of jaundice is simple because it will change the color of skin and the eyes due to the build-up of a pigment [bilirubin] in the blood.

Jaundice becomes severe occasionally due to the carelessness of the parents. If the parents fail to provide proper treatment and preventive measures, the condition will worsen and severe jaundice will pose a risk of permanent brain injury, which can even result in athetoid cerebral palsy in babies.

The disorders due to seizure in the early age of life may cause cerebral palsy in babies or in addition to seizures; there may be unknown problems, which also may be the cause for cerebral palsy in babies. Very few cerebral palsy cases have been reported as unexplained (idiopathic) seizures, which are hereditary and happens to a small percentage of cases.

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