What are the Risk factors?

Many instances of cerebral palsy have no known causes, but there have been certain risk factors found to occur with babies that are later diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Infants at the highest risk for developing cerebral palsy exhibit one or more of these factors: premature, low birth weight (less than 5 lb or 7� oz), do not cry in the first five minutes, sustained on a ventilator more than four weeks, and brain hemorrhage (bleeding in brain).

Other risk factor includes the following:

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However, it should always be remembered that risk factor is not a cause, it is a variable which may increase the chances of a child developing cerebral palsy. In other words the presence of a risk factor does not mean cerebral palsy will occur, nor does the absence of a risk factor mean that cerebral palsy will not occur. Being aware of these warning signs health care professionals can closely monitor children who face a higher risk for long-term problems in the nervous system.