Arthur's
South
Africa Cerebral Palsy Home |
~How do you get Cerebral Palsy?~
Cerebral palsy is caused by an injury to the brain
usually before, during, or shortly after birth. In many cases, no-one knows for
sure what caused the brain injury or what may have been done to prevent the
injury. Sometimes injuries to a baby's brain happen while the baby is still in
the mother's womb (before birth). The injury might be caused by an infection or
by an accident in which the mother is hurt. If a mother has a medical problem
such as high blood pressure or diabetes, this can also cause problems in the
baby. There may be problems during birth such as the baby not getting enough
oxygen, or a difficult delivery in which the baby's brain is injured. Problems
after birth may happen when a baby is born too soon (premature delivery) and
his body is not ready to live outside his mother's womb. Even babies born at
the right time can have infections, or bleeding in their brain which causes a
brain injury because the brain is still developing even after birth.
An unfortunate accident later in life, such as an
automobile crash, or perhaps a head injury during a mugging can cause Cerebral
Palsy. Cerebral Palsy is not infectious and can only be caused by physical
Brain damage.
The most important thing to remember is that you do
not "catch" Cerebral Palsy from another person, and you do not
develop Cerebral Palsy later in life. It is caused by an injury to the brain
usually near the time of birth.
Environmental Causes:- Infections, malnutrician and low birth weight are common
risk factors for mental handicap.
Infections:- Meningitis:, Meningo-encephalitis:,
Tuberculous meningitis:, Measles:, Maternal rubella:,
Gastro-enteritis:, Whooping Cough.
Physical Causes:- Alcohol and Drug Abuse are the two main causes.Trauma, e.g.
motor accidents, drowning,exposure to toxins e.g. lead are usual perinatal
problems.
? |
E-mail arthur_r.1@email.com
Last Updated 28th February, 2000