How Brain Damage Can Cause Cerebral Palsy
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The Process
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According to the Mayo Clinic, brain damage can cause cerebral palsy in a number of ways, but it is most often due to injury to the brain or infection of a baby's brain during early pregnancy through age 5. Cerebral palsy is a multifaceted disorder that can affect musculature, motor skills, speech, vision, hearing and learning abilities. It occurs when messages from the brain to the rest of the body are interfered with due to damage from an injury, infection, or genetic or developmental disorders.
Cerebral palsy is classified into three types: spastic cerebral palsy, athetoid cerebral palsy and ataxic cerebral palsy. Spastic cerebral palsy causes the body to be stiff and makes movement of the muscles difficult. Athetoid cerebral palsy is when an individual cannot control her movement. Ataxic cerebral palsy leads to skewed balance and depth perception.
Brain Injury
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Brain injury may occur when oxygen is not delivered to the brain while in the womb. This can be due to placenta abruptio, which is when the mother's placenta separates prematurely from the uterine wall and ceases to carry oxygen to the developing baby. Placenta previa, which is maternal bleeding of the placenta due to it being placed over a dilating cervix, can also decrease oxygen levels to the fetus through blood loss. Oxygen deprivation may also occur during labor and delivery.
Another cause of brain injury during pregnancy is related to blood disorders. If a mother's blood Rh factor is not compatible with the blood Rh factor of her fetus, her body treats the fetus as a foreign invader and attacks it, much like a disease caused by bacteria or a virus. The brain is often damaged in these situations, leading to cerebral palsy.
Children born with jaundice or birth defects such as malformations of the heart, kidney, lungs or brain, are also at an increased risk to develop cerebral palsy. Children who are exposed to lead poisoning, malnourished or shaken as an infant are also more likely to develop a brain injury that could lead cerebral palsy. Mothers who use tobacco, alcohol and drugs are also more likely to damage the developing brain of their baby, which can cause cerebral palsy.
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Brain Infection
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Cerebral palsy from brain damage also can be due to an infection during pregnancy. This could be an infection in the mother or fetus. According to the Mayo Clinic, infections that a mother contracts that can lead to cerebral palsy include toxoplamosis, rubella and cytomegalovirus. The Mayo Clinic also reports that mothers who have sexually transmitted diseases such as syphilis are more likely to have a child with cerebral palsy. A mother transmits these infections to the developing baby through the placenta. A child who contracts bacterial meningitis, an infection that affects the lining of the brain, may develop cerebral palsy.
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