What are the causes?

Any damage to the brain, whether caused by genetic or developmental disorders, injury or disease, may produce cerebral palsy. One important cause is an insufficient amount of oxygen reaching the fetal or newborn brain. Oxygen supply can be interrupted by premature separation of the placenta from the wall of the uterus, awkward birth position of the baby, labor that is too long or too abrupt or interference with circulation in the umbilical cord. Premature birth, low birth weight, RH or A-B-O blood type incompatibility between mother and infant, infection of the mother with German measles or other virus diseases in early pregnancy, and micro-organisms that attack the infant’s central nervous system also are risk factors for cerebral palsy. Most causes of cerebral palsy are related to the developmental and childbearing processes and, since the condition is not inherited, the condition is often called congenital cerebral palsy. A less common type is acquired cerebral palsy; head injury is the most frequent cause, usually the result of motor vehicle accidents, drug addiction, falls or child abuse; another cause is brain infection.