Cerebral Palsy | What It Means For Infants

What Cerebral Palsy Means for Infants

The most noticeable effects of cerebral palsy, especially in infants, are on muscle tone. Because an infant won't be walking yet are performing other complex activities, it is sometimes difficult to notice a child actually has cerebral palsy. The first step in finding out whether or not a child is affected by it is running the appropriate tests.

Suspecting an Injury

If the child is deprived of oxygen during the birthing process or at some point during their development in the womb, it is likely that doctors will order the tests to determine whether or not the child has cerebral palsy. These will include scanning the child's brain to see if there is an injury, performing lab work and taking a look at the child's medical history and the circumstances of your pregnancy. These things, combined with observation, will help the doctor determine if cerebral palsy is an issue.

Without Investigation

There are some cases when cerebral palsy is discovered after the child is born but when there was nothing that happened during the pregnancy or delivery that would've let a physician to believe that might be an issue. Most of the time, the parent notices that the child has very uneven muscle tone or that they are very delayed in performing certain milestone feats of strength. Because of today's medical technology, it is unlikely that a case of cerebral palsy will go unnoticed. It does happen, however, and you should always speak to a physician if you believe that your child may be suffering from this condition.

Development

Children with cerebral palsy will be delayed in development in several ways. They may never actually be able to walk on their own. Some of them will have learning disabilities that may be quite severe, as well, but these usually will not become an issue until the child is ready to go to school or to learn basic skills, such as speaking and performing simple tasks.

Sometimes, cerebral palsy in infants is directly attributable to medical negligence on the part of the healthcare provider, the physician attending the birth or the nurses attending the birth. If you believe that medical negligence resulted in baby brain damage that caused your child to suffer cerebral palsy, you should contact an attorney that specializes in these cases. They may be able to help you put a case together that could win your child compensation for their injuries.