What Is the Life Expectancy for Those with Cerebral Palsy?
When parents have a child, they often want their kid to have the best of everything. Having a child is usually a symbol of hope the parents will succeed in raising a healthy, happy individual who will have a long life. However, things don’t always go according to plan. When children acquire cerebral palsy (CP) before, during, or after the pregnancy, this condition can often affect a kid’s health and lifespan.
One of the difficult parts of having a child with CP is not knowing how long they have to live. Predicting how lifespan is altered by a medical condition is almost impossible. Sometimes physicians aren’t able to immediately diagnose CP in newborns, and even when they do, it can take months to years to accurately access the level and extent of impairment a child will experience.
To fully understand how CP has affected a child’s brain, a doctor might wait until the brain is fully developed, observing the child’s behavior over time and gauging critical developmental milestones. They might also recommend therapy and treatments to help minimize the effects of impairment. Although it can be difficult to determine a prognosis for a child with CP, setting goals with the child’s doctors and learning to manage impairment, conditions, and other factors properly can improve a child’s outcomes.
However, no matter how well you help your child manage his or her condition, it can be difficult to determine how a lifespan will be affected. Most individuals with CP live until late adulthood; some, on the other hand, might have a shorter lifespan because of a more severe impairment or more related health conditions. Some factors that might shorten the lifespan of people with CP include the following:
- Severity level
- Mobility restrictions
- Feeding difficulties
- Respiratory issues
- Visual acuity
- Cognitive functioning
- Number of impairments and main disabilities
Some of these factors can cause reduced life expectancy by weakening parts of the body. For example, respiratory distress might make it difficult for the body to function and can lead to life-threatening heart conditions.
If your child’s condition was caused by the negligence of a doctor, don’t hesitate to call us. Our skilled Baltimore cerebral palsy attorneys have more than 100 years of combined legal experience to offer your case, and we have recovered more than $500 million in verdicts and settlements for our past clients. Let us see what we can do for you and your family.
Contact us at (410) 567-0800 or fill out our online form to schedule a free case consultation with us today.