Cerebral Palsy Information | Infant Milestones Help With Diagnosis

Infant Milestones Help Diagnose Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy in infants is not always detected immediately. Because this condition affects coordination and control over the muscles, it makes it difficult to detect in infants that haven’t started moving around much yet. Most of the time, it will be detected—or, at least, suspected—when the baby fails to reach some common milestones.

Rolling Over

This may seem like nothing for an adult, but it’s quite a feat of strength and coordination for an infant to roll themselves over. When they fail to do so within the normal time frame, doctors may start to suspect that the infant suffers from some sort of baby injury. This, in and of itself, is not sufficient reason to suspect CP, but it’s sometimes enough cause for the doctors to start looking at whether there is some sort of a major problem with the infant.

Muscle Tone

CP primarily affects the control of the muscles. Because the baby is unlikely to be performing any coordinated tasks for some time, the muscle tone is usually the first indicator. The baby’s muscles may seem floppy or very rigid, or some combination of the two, but it’s usually apparent that there is something wrong with the infant’s body.

Faster Diagnosis

CP occurs when the baby’s brain is starved of oxygen and when the brain is damaged as a result. If the delivery team becomes aware that the baby has been in this situation, they may order tests immediately to see if there has been a brain injury or another injury related to the distress the infant was in. In some cases, this may lead to earlier detection. In some cases, however, especially if the symptoms are mild, it may take much longer for the child’s condition to be noticed.

Medical Negligence

In some instances, the doctors, nurses or hospital may have been negligent in some regard and, because of that, caused the child’s injuries. If this is the case, you may well have the option of filing a lawsuit to seek damages from the doctor’s or institution’s insurance company.

There is no way you can really know whether or not a case will win, but only an attorney can tell you if it’s worth exploring or not. If they offer a free consultation, you can sit down with them and go over your situation and explain to them what happened. They may believe that you have a case and that you should press ahead with it.