Risk Factors of Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy risk factors are events, substances or circumstances that increase the chances of a child developing cerebral palsy. Events that create a greater risk for a child to develop cerebral palsy include accidents, traumatic brain injury, medical malpractice, and shaken-baby syndrome. Events could also include infections, complicated birth, maternal seizures, inflammation and improperly managed chronic health conditions. Risks can be avoidable, or unavoidable.
A mother’s intake of or exposure to toxins from cigarette smoke, illegal drugs, pesticides, hair dye, and even the use of some prescription medications during pregnancy can increase the likelihood that a child conceived later will develop cerebral palsy. An expectant mother’s exposure to illnesses such as Rubella or the chicken pox virus also place the fetus at risk for developing cerebral palsy.
Parental health and habits are known contributing risk factors. For example, parents younger than 18 or older than 34 are more likely to have a child with cerebral palsy. Mothers with eating disorders that aren’t managed properly during pregnancy can contribute risk.

A risk factor does not ensure a child will develop cerebral palsy; it means chances are higher than if that risk factor was not present. Likewise, the absence of risk factors does not ensure that a child will not develop cerebral palsy.
Cerebral palsy risk factors are often confused with signs, symptoms or causes of cerebral palsy; they are different. To clarify, risk factors increase the odds of cerebral palsy occurring. They effect the causal pathway that leads to brain injury or brain malformation. Symptoms, on the other hand, are the experiences of the individual, which may indicate a condition exists, and signs are clinical proof of the condition. The cause of cerebral palsy is one of four types of brain damage:
Periventricular Leukomalacia, or PVL – damage to white matter tissue in the brain
Cerebral Dysgenesis – brain malformation or abnormal brain development
Intracranial Hemorrhage, or IVH – brain hemorrhage
Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy, or HIE, also referred to as Intrapartum Asphyxia – lack of oxygen to the brain or asphyxia

Although risk factors increase chances of a child developing cerebral palsy, the likelihood is still low. Approximately two to four in every 1,000 infants develop cerebral palsy in the United States. Even when risk factors are present, the probability of a child developing cerebral palsy is low.