Title: Cerebral palsy | definition of cerebral palsy by Medical dictionary
Headings: cerebral palsy
cerebral palsy
Cerebral Palsy
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cerebral
palsy
ce·re·bral pal·sy (CP),
cerebral palsy
cer′e·bral-pal′sied adj.
cerebral palsy
ce·re·bral pal·sy
cerebral palsy
ce·re·bral pal·sy
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Content: Two factors are involved in the risk for CP associated with prematurity. First, premature babies are at higher risk for various CP-associated medical complications, such as intracerebral hemorrhage, infection, and difficulty in breathing, to name a few. Second, the onset of premature labor may be induced, in part, by complications that have already caused neurologic damage in the fetus. A combination of both factors almost certainly plays a role in some cases of CP. The tendency toward premature delivery runs in families, but the genetic mechanisms are far from clear. An increase in multiple pregnancies in recent years, especially in the United States, is blamed on the increased use of fertility drugs. As the number of fetuses in a pregnancy increases, the risks for abnormal development and premature delivery also increase. Children from twin pregnancies have four times the risk of developing CP as children from singleton pregnancies, owing to the fact that more twin pregnancies are delivered prematurely. The risk for CP in a child of triplets is up to 18 times greater. Furthermore, recent evidence suggests that a baby from a pregnancy in which its twin died before birth is at increased risk for CP.