Brainpalsy.com - Helping Parents Combat Cerebral Palsy

The most simple answer as to why a child is suffering from cerebral palsy is because they have suffered some form of damage to their brain. Normally such damage will have occurred before, during or after the child has been born. But in order to find out which kind of injury to the brain and the causes of cerebral palsy a doctor will need to carry out various medical and neurological tests on the child.

Unfortunately when medical professionals are investigating why the child has suffered a brain injury find it difficult to know what for sure had caused it. Because they are unable to discover what has caused the initial injury to the childs brain they also find it difficult to have ways of preventing it in the first place. But in many cases where a child is suffering from cerebral palsy there are two injuries to their brain which can be the cause of them suffering from this particular condition.

The first is because the childs brain has been unable to develop properly and is commonly referred to as developmental brain malformation. Unfortunately with this kind of injury to the brain there is very little chance available medically to help prevent such an injury occurring.

The other cause for a child to suffer brain damage whilst still in their mothers womb or as they are being born or after they have been born is through a recognized injury. The kinds of injuries that fall in to this category are infections (such as meningitis), blood has been allowed to bleed into the brain or the child has not been provided with sufficient amounts of oxygen to their brain. Around 10 to 15% of all children who suffer from cerebral palsy will have been caused by such injuries.

Also a large proportion of the cases of cerebral palsy to be found in young children today have been caused through medical mistakes and could therefore have been easily prevented. Often a large number of children who have cerebral palsy will have suffered from some kind of brain damage when they were being delivered and therefore could easily have been prevented.

But just how bad a childs cerebral palsy is will depend on how severe the damage to their brain was. For a baby who is born prematurely and suffers from an intraventricular haemorrhage (bleeding into the brain) will suffer from very extensive brain damage.

Above we have explained some of the causes of cerebral palsy in children today and on average around 6,000 new cases are presenting themselves in the USA each year. Currently the medical bill to cover the costs of caring for such children in the USA alone is running at around $20 billion a year. But the biggest question being asked by many parents today whose child suffers from cerebral palsy was if it could have been prevented or not?

Cerebral palsy is a physical disability most common in childhood basically affecting the movements and posture causing limited activity being attributed to disturbances, which are not progressive occurring in the developing infant or fatal brain. The motor disorders of cerebral palsy are habitually accompanied by disturbances of cognition, sensation, perception, communication, and behavior or seizure disorder.

There are secondary orthopaedic abnormality inhibited by the child such as scoliosis of the spine and hip dislocation. Scoliosis is a condition involving spines lateral curvature greater than ten degrees without possible cure but can be treated by surgery or bracing.

William Little first detected the cerebral palsy also known as cerebral paralysis in 1860. He was a British surgeon identifying that asphyxia during birth is the major cause of the abnormality. Asphyxia is a condition where there is an occurrence of extremely deficient oxygen supply to the body leading to inability of breathing normally.

In 1897, Sigmund Freud, a neurologist said that the disorder is not brought about by a difficult birth rather from the symptoms of other effects during the development of the fetus.

In 1980, it was found out by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke that only few number of cases of cerebral palsy is due to lack of oxygen during birth.

It was believed by Thomas Galton that there is a consistency between aptitude and physical disability however this attitude stays prevalent leading to an over diagnosed cerebral palsy disorder in 1970.

This leads to occurrences of different cerebral palsy subtypes including hypotonic CP however only one individual out of 2000 are positively diagnosed with this disorder. So it only means that cerebral palsy depends on the peoples interpretation of what the disorder is. Spastic, Ataxic, Atheoid, and mixed are recognized by scholars as important forms of cerebral palsy open to subtypes existence.

It is a misnomer that cerebral palsy causes mental retardation because only those individual with brain damage associated with frontal cerebral cortex acquired this disorder.

Learning difficulties can occur but individuals with CP can have normal lives when it is managed effectively and coherently. Difficulties in movements are common with people diagnosed with cerebral palsy varying from minor levels of clumsiness.

Cerebral palsy can occur during pregnancy with a rate of 75%, at birth with a 5% rating, after birth with a 15% rating. Eighty percent of cerebral palsy causes are not known. However some known causes includes malnutrition, infections and major head injury during early stage of childhood.

Experts estimate that 3-5 babies in 1,000 are injured during labor and delivery. Injuries range dramatically, from temporary problems that can be resolved during a short hospital stay to long-term medical conditions such as Cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy and others. Medical providers are trained to recognize the risk factors and warning signs for harm during labor and delivery - but when those signs aren’t noticed quickly enough, serious damage can occur.

The Connecticut Cerebral Palsy lawyers at Haymond Law have seen multiple cases of cerebral palsy and other devastating birth injuries caused by medical negligence. As a result of their extensive experience working with families, the firm has compiled the following summary of common birth injuries, risk factors and warning signs of an injury caused by medical negligence.

Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral Palsy is a condition in which brain damage affects body movement and muscle coordination. There are three types of cerebral palsy: spastic, athetoid, and ataxic. Spastic cerebral palsy causes a severe stiffening of different muscles within the body. Athetoid cerebral palsy causes an inability to control muscles. Ataxic cerebral palsy causes problems with balance and coordination.

Erb’s Palsy

Erb’s palsy refers specifically to injuries that involve the upper brachial plexus, or the muscles of the shoulder and elbow. Improper use of forceps or vacuum to resolve a situation of shoulder dystocia are common factors in Erb’s palsy injuries.

Kumpke’s Palsy

Klumpke’s palsy, also known as Dejerine-Klumpke palsy, refers specifically to injuries that involve the muscles of the forearm and hand - often causing paralysis of forearm, wrist, hand and fingers. In some cases, other symptoms known as Horner’s sign may accompany the impaired arm/hand functions, including eyelid drooping and pupil dilation in one eye.

The Dangers of Shoulder Dystocia

Many of these injuries occur as a result of shoulder dystocia during delivery. Shoulder dystocia occurs when the baby’s shoulders are too large for the birth canal and become stuck behind the mother’s pubic bone. Without assistance, the baby can suffer brain damage or even death. Because shoulder dystocia is such a serious complication, there are very specific procedures to try and extricate a baby whose shoulders cannot emerge unaided. However, when physicians aren’t sufficiently trained in how to perform these procedures, traumatic injuries such as those outlined above are the results.

There are multiple factors that raise the risk for shoulder dystocia, including:

1. Diabetes in mother

2. Obesity in mother

3. Baby is more than 41 weeks old at delivery

4. Mother has small pelvis

5. Mother’s height is short

6. Baby has higher than normal birth weight

7. Mother has previously delivered large baby or experienced shoulder dystocia during previous deliveries

Signs of Medical Negligence

While some birth injuries are unpreventable, medical professionals are trained to recognize key warning signs and follow specific procedures to avoid harm during delivery. Medical negligence may have played a role in a child’s traumatic injuries under the following circumstances:

1. Doctor failed to obtain a thorough obstetrical history of the mother, including any previous history of diabetes, large babies, or difficult deliveries

2. Doctor failed to check for gestational diabetes during pregnancy

3. Doctor did not warn mother of excessive weight gain during pregnancy

4. Doctor did not evaluate fetal size by ultrasound during the third trimester

5. Doctor did not address late delivery date

6. Doctor did not assign or request qualified medical staff to help manage delivery

7. Doctor did not properly inform mother about need for caesarean section amid various delivery risks

8. Doctor did not manage shoulder dystocia appropriately, including improper use of pressure on the abdomen (fundal pressure), forceps or vacuum extractor or excessive force on the head or neck during delivery

Legal action cannot heal a child’s injury, but financial compensation can help ensure the best medical treatment and hold negligent parties responsible. Families affected by birth injuries in Connecticut should contact an experienced Connecticut Cerebral Palsy lawyer for more information.