There is really no one single etiology of cerebral palsy and in most cases a clear cut reason is not identified. In fact, most cases are not diagnosed at the time of birth and may take up to three years to identify. Most of the time the problems occurs while the baby is still in the womb, in utero, or in the immediate neonatal period. Very few babies that suffer asphyxia during birth go on to develop cerebral palsy but there is that small percentage who develop problems when exposed to prolonged periods of oxygen deprivation. An appropriate injection after the birth of their first child can avoid this problem.
Premature babies are particularly prone toward bleeding in their brains.
As we stated above, many times we cannot identify why the baby has a brain injury, but there are a number of high risk factors that should make the doctor look more closely at the baby or young child for signs of brain injury. Neonatal meningitis Intraventricular hemorrhage Spina Bifida Maternal bleeding These risk factors should raise the awareness of the doctor and the parents. But, it is still difficult to look at a newborn or for that matter, a child in the first three months of life and tell whether or not they have a brain injury. Infants may not breast or bottle feed adequately because of difficulty with coordination of their oral-motor movements. The floppy baby and one that is delayed in holding up their head may have poor postural reflexes and a developmental delay.