MODEL TO IDENTIFY POTENTIALLY PREVENTABLE CEREBRAL-PALSY OF INTRAPARTUM ORIGIN

A six stage model was applied to a geographically defined population o f 210 singleton children born at term who had a diagnosis of cerebral palsy at 5 years of age. Thirty five children were identified as those most likely to have cerebral palsy of intrapartum origin; in 26 of th ese there was evidence of suboptimal care. It is suggested that this s imple model should be tested on populations of children with cerebral palsy and the underlying principles used when considering the likely c ause of cerebral palsy in individual children.