Dyskinetic cerebral palsy and birth asphyxia.

Of 115 children with dyskinetic cerebral palsy (CP) in the Mersey region, 17 were born at term and at an appropriate weight for age, and have preserved cognitive abilities. 10 of these are likely to have sustained intrapartum asphyxial brain-damage as the cause of their CP. In such circumstances, a characteristic pattern is usually seen of severe fetal distress occurring late in labour, severe but short-lived birth asphyxia and only mild or moderate hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy. This clinical picture should be distinguished from the pattern of birth asphyxia which precedes the development of spastic quadriplegic CP.