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[Cerebral palsy and perinatal asphyxia in full term newborn infants]
1Inserm unité 149, Paris, France.
Insights
Cerebral palsy (CP) affects about 1 in 1000 children. While perinatal asphyxia is linked to CP, it explains only a fraction of cases, and improved perinatal care has limited impact on overall CP frequency.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
Abstract:
Actual data on the frequency of cerebral palsy (CP) and "infirmité motrice cérébrale" (IMC), and their relationship with perinatal asphyxia and perinatal managements, are presented. In France, the frequency of IMC at 9 years of age, approximates 1 per thousand, for the 1972, 1976, 1981 generations. Three surveys, two English and one Australian, show an association between perinatal asphyxia and CP. However computation of percent attributable risk indicates that asphyxia can explain only one case of CP out of six among term neonates. These surveys show also that 10% of CP only could be prevented by improving perinatal managements. This, in addition to other factors such as the increase in survival of very preterm babies, explains the absence of a significant reduction of CP frequency despite improvements in the perinatal care.