How to Prevent for Cerebral Palsy

When a child is born with cerebral palsy, the reasons are often because of preventable events that occur prior to birth, during the delivery process, or immediately after birth. Many work diligently towards preventing cerebral palsy by identifying risks, developing prevention measures, and implementing educational campaigns.
Cerebral palsy is the most common childhood motor disability. According to population-based studies performed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cerebral palsy affects 1.5 to 4 per 1,000 live births in the United States. The CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network also estimates that one in every 323 children has cerebral palsy.
The reasons prevention is so important can be seen in the faces and bodies of children with cerebral palsy. Current estimates outline a very human toll; cerebral affects more boys than girls. About 77 percent of children with cerebral palsy suffer from spasticity, and 41.8 percent could not walk independently. Another 30.6 percent had no ability to walk.
There is also a financial toll, both for families and society. Among children that were enrolled in Medicaid in 2005, the highest costs were incurred on behalf of children with cerebral palsy and intellectual disabilities. Medical costs for children with cerebral palsy were 10 times higher than for unaffected children in 2005. If a child had cerebral palsy and an intellectual disability, those costs were 26 percent higher. If a child was born with cerebral palsy in 2000, it’s estimated that lifetime care could cost $11.5 billion.
There will never be a time when all cases of cerebral palsy are prevented. But there are measures that can be taken by all stakeholders to stem the tide of new cases. As is true with other medical conditions, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Cerebral palsy is broken down into categories, congenital, acquired and genetic predisposition. Congenital cases are the result of brain damage that has occurred – sometimes for an unknown reasons – before a child is born. Additionally, cases where a birth complication occurs are also considered congenital.
Most acquired cases, however, occur after a child is born. A child may acquire cerebral palsy if he or she endured a brain injury through natural (stroke), accidental (car injury) or purposeful (shaken-baby syndrome) means, or if he or she comes down with an infection or a condition that slows blood flow to the brain. Genetic predispostion means that a child has a genetic make-up that through causal pathways may lead to cerebral palsy.

Measures can be taken to prevent both congenital and acquired cerebral palsy, but more options seem to be effective on curtailing acquired cases. In the case of genetic predisposition, a couple who is aware that they have a predisposition are able to ascertain whether they would like to conceive, adopt or foster children which can be viewed as a form of prevention to some extent.