40 per cent reduction in cerebral palsy within a generation

Cerebral palsy in newborn children in Australia has fallen by 40 per cent in a generation, putting us among the lowest rates in the world, new research shows.

NDIS minister Bill Shorten says the new findings on reduced prevalence of cerebral palsy were ‘great news’. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Cerebral palsy in newborn children in Australia has fallen by 40 per cent in a generation, putting us among the lowest rates in the world, new research shows.

The incidence of cerebral palsy has fallen nationwide from one in 400 births in the mid-90s to one in 700 births, the 2023 Australian Cerebral Palsy Register Report reveals.

And the severity of the condition is declining, data crunched from almost 11,000 children with cerebral palsy shows, with fewer people needing wheelchairs or other supports to walk.

Cerebral palsy, the most common childhood physical disability, is caused by a brain injury that occurs while in the womb or shortly after birth. Australia currently has around 34,000 people with cerebral palsy, which affects their ability to move, communicate, eat, sleep and learn.

Despite the numbers, Australia has done well to reduce both incidence and severity of the condition through a strong health system and critical advances in obstetrics and newborn care, world-leading expert Nadia Badawi said.

“Given one in two babies born with cerebral palsy are premature, we have worked very hard to develop strategies to reduce the risk for those mothers,” Professor Badawi, chairwoman of research at the Cerebral Palsy Alliance, said.

“For instance, giving the drug magnesium sulphate to mothers before they go into preterm birth reduces the rate of cerebral palsy. So too does providing steroids at that point,” she said.

Professor Badawi said multiple embryos implanted via in-vitro fertilisation also created a higher risk of cerebral palsy, and much work had been done in recent years with obstetricians to change the practice to implanting just one.

Another cause of cerebral palsy is contracting the cytomegalovirus (CMV) during pregnancy, but educating mothers about limiting the risk of catching it from a toddler could also lead to further reduced rates.

“We discovered CMV causes 10 per cent of cerebral palsy. We say to pregnant women ‘don’t kiss your toddler on the mouth, don’t lick their dummies to clean them, wash your hands carefully’. All these things help,” Professor Badawi said.

Earlier detection of cerebral palsy has improved outcomes too. Two decades ago, it wasn’t able to be diagnosed until a child reached two, but now it can be detected as early as 12 weeks.

“We can do better early intervention and support, getting in early in areas such as physio, speech therapy and addressing deafness, which is sometimes associated with cerebral palsy,” Professor Badawi said.

NDIS minister Bill Shorten said the new findings on reduced prevalence of cerebral palsy were “great news”.

Around half of those with cerebral palsy in Australia are NDIS participants.