Causes of Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral Palsy (CP) is caused by abnormal brain development or damage to a developing brain. The brain damage or abnormalities affect a child's ability to control his/her muscles. The problems with brain development or brain damage can be caused by multiple different factors. People used to believe that cerebral palsy was caused mainly by lack of oxygen during the birthing process, but scientists have discovered that this is only the case for a small of amount of people with CP. Cerebral palsy can be congenital or it can be acquired as a result of an infection or brain damage when a child is young. CP affects about 1 in 323 children and is more commonly found among boys. (CDC, 2014)