Review on Prevention of Cerebral Palsy from the Perspective of Social Pediatrics

Cerebral palsy is a static encephalopathy with multiple etiologies. Several interventions toward perinatal risk factors, intrapartum asphyxia, and head injury or infection have been evaluated in order to deal with irreversible brain damage. Antenatal–intrapartum and neonatal interventions mainly focus on preventing hypoxia, oxidative stress, inflammation, and growth restriction. Among these preventive interventions, magnesium sulfate for neuroprotection of the fetus in women at risk of preterm birth and therapeutic hypothermia (cooling of body or just brain) for newborns with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy have effectively reduced cerebral palsy risk. There is still a lack of literature on the effectiveness of preventive interventions toward postnatally acquired brain injury. Social pediatricians are concerned with identifying, reducing, or eliminating risk factors of cerebral palsy and encourage a comprehensive approach to providing integrated and personalized care to children with cerebral palsy with the support of their families and communities.