Cerebral Palsy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cerebral Palsy - Essay Example One common cause of CP in infants is periventricular leukomalacia, which is referent to white matter damage in the brain. This could be caused by infections to the mother, such as rubella, premature birth, low blood pressure, or illegal drug use when pregnant (Shepherd 22). Another cause of CP in infants is abnormal brain development. This leads to alteration of brain and body muscle communication. Any brain development abnormality could lead to CP with the foetus being especially vulnerable to this. Gene mutations in those genes that are important in the development of the brain also lead to CP, as do some infections like herpes and toxoplasmosis and trauma to the infants head (Shepherd 24). Finally, intracranial haemorrhage in infants before and after birth due to a stroke could cause CP. Brain bleeds can cause the blood supply to vital tissue in the brain being stopped, which leads to eventual damage or death of brain tissue. In addition, some of the blood could form clots and lead to surrounding tissue being damaged. Finally, brain damage following birth could cause CP in infants. This could result from meningitis and other infections, drowning accidents, head trauma, or poisoning (Shepherd 24). Generally, infants who have gone through one or more of the above will get cerebral palsy. Infants with cerebral palsy may have problems with achieving developmental milestones like uttering words and crawling much later than other infants their age do (Bjorklund 51). Infants with cerebral palsy also tend to crawl in a peculiar manner, while also having an abnormal muscle tone, which is the infant’s ability to relax automatically or tighten their muscles when they need to. In this case, the infant will sit in a slouching position. In addition, the infant will also suckle and feed with a lot of difficulties. It will also be observed that the infant lies in positions that are awkward and unnatural for other infants their own age.