What causes cerebral palsy and how is it diagnosed?
In many instances, the cause of cerebral palsy in an individual may be difficult to pin down. For decades, it had been thought that in the majority of cases anoxia, or the lack of oxygen, either prior to birth or during birth was the main cause of cerebral palsy. Recent studies, however, have found that anoxia is the cause of cerebral palsy in only between 3 and 12 percent of the cases. Approximately 85 percent of the brain damage related to cerebral palsy occurs prior to birth. Some of the prenatal causes may be prematurity, lack of proper nutrition, or virus. In 75 percent of prenatal cerebral palsy, the cause can not be determined. Of the other 15 percent of cerebral palsy that occurs post-natally, the main cause is infection, usually measles. Other post-natal causes are automobile accidents, falls, and child abuse. Since in many cases the cause of cerebral palsy is difficult to determine, risk factors are difficult to establish with any measure of statistical certainty. However, th
