ETIOLOGY OF CEREBRAL PALSY

Uday Chadha, M.D., F.R.C.P. Chief of Neonatology, Ottawa Civic Hospital,

Ottawa, Canada

Etiology of Cerebral Palsy

Collaborative perinatal project followed 45,000 children for 7 years. The prevalence of

CP reported was 4/1000 live births.

Birth asphyxia as an uncommon cause of CP.

Most high risk pregnancies resulted in neurologically normal children.

Only prom, chorioamnionitis and congenital malformation contributed to the increase of CP.

Maternal mental retardation, birth weight less the 2001 grams and fetal malformation were the leading predictors of CP.

78 percent of children with CP did not have birth asphyxia and 22 percent who did had other risk factors that may have compromised their recovery.

Pre eclampsia and UTI were not significantly associated with CP.

Antepartum hemorrhage was associated with CP this was accounted for by preterm birth.

Congenital malformation and non-CP neurological disorders were significantly associated with CP.

There is a high incidence of CP in very low birth weight infants with 1) Higher # of days on ventilator, 2) Sepsis, and 3) Severe cranial ultra sound and abnormalities.