However, there is a risk to children who are born prematurely and are of low birth weight when the mother has had a history of reproductive problems. Women who have had multiple miscarriages are at an increased risk of giving birth to a child with cerebral palsy. Statistically, more whites than African-Americans are affected, as are more males than females. There are four different types of cerebral palsy. Spastic cerebral palsy is the most common form, affecting approximately 70 percent of all individuals with cerebral palsy.
Spasticity can be either a mild or severe impairment of motor functions.
It is also common for the affected individual to have hypertonicity, an excessive tension of muscles. Quadriplegia or Tetraplegia- involvement of all limbs, usually to the same degree. Athetoid or Dyskinetic cerebral palsy occurs approximately 20 percent of the time. It is characterized by low muscle tone, slow, writhing movement patterns and involuntary jerking of the head or of the arms and legs. The movements generally increase with emotional tension and decrease while the individual is asleep.