What are the symptoms of cerebral palsy in babies?

Because people nowadays only have physical examinations during pregnancy, they relax their vigilance on some physical characteristics of the baby after birth, and are prone to overlook the existence of cerebral palsy in children. Children may show signs of cerebral palsy a few months after birth. If parents cannot detect some problems with sucking, swallowing, secretions, and limbs in time, cerebral palsy may not be treated in time. It is important to pay attention to the symptoms.

Symptoms of early cerebral palsy in infants (1) Excessive irritability: continuous crying, difficulty falling asleep. About 30% of children with cerebral palsy have symptoms similar to severe "colic" in the first 3 months after birth.

Symptoms of early cerebral palsy in infants (2) include feeding difficulties, uncoordinated sucking and swallowing, nursing difficulties, frequent spitting up, and continued weight loss.

Early on, infants with cerebral palsy may appear very “sensitive” or agitated (3) , but this is of little significance if the infant (particularly a low-birth-weight infant) only behaves in this way when hungry.

Symptoms of early cerebral palsy in infants (4) include difficulty in abducting the thighs when they are "sensitive" to noise or changes in body position, difficulty in opening the fists when taking a bath, and parents often report that "the child does not like taking a bath". When the feet touch the edge of the bathtub, the back becomes stiff and arched.

Any of the above conditions may also occur in normal children. Cerebral palsy cannot be diagnosed based on the presence of one or two of the conditions. If multiple conditions exist and occur in children with high-risk factors, the possibility of cerebral palsy should be considered.