In addition, some 1,200 - 1,500 preschool age children annually are recognized to have cerebral palsy. Measures of prevention are increasingly possible today. If the woman has not been immunized, the consequences of blood incompatibility in the newborn can be prevented by exchange transfusion in the baby. If a newborn baby has jaundice, this can be treated by phototherapy in the hospital nursery. Of great importance are optimal well being prior to conception, adequate prenatal care, and protecting infants from accidents or injury.
Management consists of helping the child achieve maximum potential in growth and development.
This should be started as early as possible with identification of the very young child who may have a developmental disorder. A management program can then be started promptly to include attention to the child's movement, learning, speech, hearing, and social and emotional development. In these programs, physicians, therapists, educators, nurses, social workers, and other professionals assist the family as well as the child. Certain medications, surgery, and braces may be used to improve nerve and muscle coordination and prevent dysfunction. People with cerebral palsy can go to school, have jobs, get married, raise families, and live in homes of their own.