A new study suggests that black infants have a much higher risk of developing cerebral palsy.  What's worse, according to the study, these infants are less likely than white infants to be diagnosed with cerebral palsy, although the researchers say that exact reasons for this are still a mystery. 

The study focused on more than 6.2 million births in California between 1991 and 2001.  Out of these, 8,410 were diagnosed with cerebral palsy, which is approximately 1.4 cases per 1000 live births. Researchers believe that the reason why black infants are at a higher risk of developing cerebral palsy is possibly linked to their low birth weight at the time of birth.  Low birth weight has often been found by Arizona medical malpractice attorneys to be a factor in the development of cerebral palsy. 

According to the researchers, reducing the incidence of cerebral palsy in the black population could be a matter of improving prenatal care, so that there are fewer low birth weight deliveries.  Black women are more likely to deliver low birth weight babies than white women.  If this disparity between these two groups could be lowered, we could be seeing fewer cases of cerebral palsy in the black population.

Arizona medical malpractice lawyers believe that we could be doing a better job of increasing black women's access to good prenatal care.  This includes access to frequent medical checkups by a physician.  The need for such care is even more important in the case of teenage mothers, who may be more likely to be deprived of such care.  Teenage pregnancy rates are higher in the black population, further increasing the risk of cerebral palsy.  Studies have shown that women who get quality prenatal checkups, eat a good diet, and maintainable an overall healthy lifestyle during their pregnancies, are much more likely to deliver healthy babies than those who do not have such advantages.