Dyskinetic and dystonic cerebral palsy and birth

Two hundred and nineteen cases of the dyskinetic and dystonic forms of cerebral palsy which were seen in the course of three decades at a single clinic have been analysed. Fifty-seven patients had kernicterus. In the remaining 162, 71% of whom were born at term, birthweight was below the expected mean in two-thirds. There was no relationship between birth weight, or abnormal birth, or asphyxia, and the ultimate clinical severity of the children. We conclude that abnormal birth and asphyxia are not direct causes of the cerebral damage, but are expressions of a pre-existing condition resulting in susceptibility to the stress of birth, whether it is normal or abnormal.