What causes premature babies to have cerebral palsy?

Premature babies are more likely to suffer from congenital cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy is mainly caused by lesions in the central nervous system of the brain, which leads to a weakening of the ability to control various body functions. Children with cerebral palsy will have very poor behavioral abilities and are almost unable to take care of themselves. They also have symptoms such as stuttering and emotional instability. Generally speaking, premature babies have a higher chance of suffering from cerebral palsy. So what is the reason why premature babies suffer from cerebral palsy?

Central

Cerebral palsy is a central injury, that is, paralysis caused by damage to the nervous system above the anterior horn cells of the spinal cord (or the motor nuclei of the cranial nerves), and the lesions are in the brain. Any paralysis caused by damage to the anterior horn cells of the spinal cord and below is not considered central damage and cannot be diagnosed as cerebral palsy. Limb paralysis caused by poliomyelitis, sciatic nerve injury, etc. does not fall into the category of cerebral palsy.

Developmental

Cerebral palsy is damage to the brain tissue during its growth and development.

It refers to various causes acting on immature, growing and developing brain tissue rather than on mature brain tissue. Therefore, although certain intracranial diseases in adults, such as cerebral hemorrhage and cerebral infarction, can also cause limb movement disorders, they cannot be diagnosed as cerebral palsy because they do not act on the developing brain tissue but on the mature brain tissue, which does not conform to the developmental characteristics. The brain tissue of the fetus, newborn and infant from conception to infancy is in development, and any damage to the brain tissue caused by any reason during this period is consistent with the diagnosis of cerebral palsy. Brain damage before conception and after infancy cannot be called cerebral palsy, because problems before conception are mostly congenital hereditary neurological diseases and should be differentiated from cerebral palsy. Brain damage caused by various reasons after infancy should be named as a disease, such as sequelae of encephalitis, and should not be diagnosed as cerebral palsy.

Non-progressive

The lesions of cerebral palsy are non-progressive, and the disease is characterized by no further progression. This point can be distinguished from diseases such as encephalitis and brain tumors. However, demyelinating diseases that are not obviously progressive or progress slowly, or congenital diseases, are difficult to distinguish from cerebral palsy. In addition, we often see many children with cerebral palsy in clinical practice. After being diagnosed, they do not receive treatment or are treated improperly for various reasons, and their symptoms become more and more obvious. This is because the abnormal posture and sensory conduction of the child's movement form a vicious cycle, causing the symptoms to continue to develop.

In fact, children who suffer from cerebral palsy are not only premature babies. Even children born naturally may suffer from cerebral palsy. The reason is closely related to the living habits or physical condition of their parents. Therefore, for the sake of the child's health, you should pay special attention during pregnancy to prevent premature birth, and remember not to smoke or drink.