Is cerebral palsy a complication of prematurity?
(from Dr. Lawrence Epple) Well, the cause of cerebral palsy cannot always be determined. We do know that it is related to damage that happens to the brain before birth, during the birthing process or shortly after birth. We also know that underdeveloped brains are more vulnerable to that damage. Some babies that have a brain bleed do end up with cerebral palsy. Sometimes we will see cerebral palsy in cases where there were complications in the pregnancy or delivery. Sometimes we will see cerebral palsy in a baby who was born at term and had no apparent problems, but we do know that at some point there must have been damage to their brain.
