Depending on which areas of the brain have been damaged, one or more of the following may occur: muscle tightness or spasticity; involuntary movement; disturbance in gait (walk) or mobility, difficulty in swallowing and problems with speech. In addition, the following symptoms are sometimes associated with cerebral palsy: abnormal sensation and perception; impairment of sight, hearing or speech; seizures; and/or mental retardation. Other problems that may arise are difficulties in feeding, bladder and bowel control, problems with breathing because of postural difficulties, skin disorders because of pressure sores, and learning disabilities.

Despite the pain and suffering that cerebral palsy patients and their caregivers have to bear, the most heartening thing about this disorder is that today there are many measures that can be taken to try and prevent its onset. Tests and prenatal care can prepare a woman and alert her when possible causes arise.

Pregnant women are tested routinely for the Rh factor and, if Rh negative, they can be immunized within 72 hours after the birth (or after the pregnancy terminates) and thereby prevent adverse consequences of blood incompatibility in a subsequent pregnancy. If the woman has not been immunized, the consequences of blood incompatibility in the newborn can be prevented by exchange transfusion in the baby. If a newborn baby has jaundice, this can be treated with phytotherapy (light therapy), which breaks down the bilirubin around the brain. Immunization against measles for all women who have not had measles and are susceptible to becoming pregnant is an essential preventative measure.