What sort of disease is cerebral palsy (c.p.)?

Brain damage: CP is a form of brain damage in early life. It could be from lack of oxygen to the brain, a bleed from a broken/burst blood vessel, head trauma and similar. The brain damage could be while the baby is still in the mother's womb (in-utero) or in the first year or two of life after birth. It can cause problems with learning, thinking, movement, sensation and communication.

Abnormal muscle tone: CP is a non-progressive damage to white matter of brain, that part which control movement and tone of muscles. Most of the causes are genetic, chromosomal, metabolic and have onset before birth. Lack of oxygen during childbirth leading to CP is not a very common cause and many other things need to happen to link CP to lack of oxygen. Preterm babies and multiple gestation are risk factors too.

It is an injury: CP results from an injury to the developing nervous system of fetus, newborn or todler caused by various events.Brain hemorrage, a cut off of oxygen, or occasionally tissue damage from a viral infection can produce the pattern. Each child is an individual event and > half of mild cases have no apparent cause.

Cerebral palsy is a : Group of disorders of impaired motor functions that are described by the way they limit mobility & hand use. Most commonly from a fetal brain malformation or injury that occurred any time from the 3rd week of gestation till term, about 10-20% of cases occur from asphyxia during labor & delivery or in the first years of life. Pediatric, early intervention services & subspecialty care all help.