Newborn seizures can sometimes be linked to cerebral palsy, but they do not always lead to it. Seizures are usually a warning sign that something has affected the baby’s brain, and that underlying problem is what may increase the risk of cerebral palsy.
To understand this better, it helps to look at what both conditions are and how they are related.
What are newborn seizures
Newborn or neonatal seizures are episodes of abnormal electrical activity in a baby’s brain. They may look different from seizures in older children. A baby might have rapid eye movements, lip smacking, jerking of the arms or legs, or periods where they stop breathing or become very stiff or very floppy. According to the National Birth Injury Law Center, a seizure happens when there are large bursts of abnormal electrical activity in the brain and can cause jerky shaking and trouble breathing in a newborn https://www.nationalbirthinjurylaw.com/cerebral-palsy.
Neonatal seizures are not a disease by themselves. They are usually a symptom that the brain has been stressed or injured in some way. Common causes include:
• Lack of oxygen around the time of birth (also called birth asphyxia or hypoxic ischemic injury)
• Bleeding in the brain (intracranial hemorrhage)
• Stroke in the newborn period
• Infections such as meningitis or encephalitis
• Metabolic problems, like very low blood sugar or low calcium
• Certain genetic or structural brain conditions
The National Birth Injury Law Center notes that neonatal seizures can result from a lack of oxygen at birth, stroke, brain bleeds, or other severe birth injuries https://www.nationalbirthinjurylaw.com/cerebral-palsy.
What is cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy, often shortened to CP, is a long term condition that affects movement, posture, and muscle control. It is caused by abnormal brain development or damage to the developing brain, usually before birth, during birth, or in the first months or years of life. Cerebral palsy itself does not get worse over time, but the challenges with movement and posture can change as the child grows.
Most cases of cerebral palsy are linked to:
• Problems with brain development during pregnancy
• Brain injury during labor and delivery, including oxygen deprivation and trauma
• Serious infections or brain injuries in early infancy
Cerebral Palsy Guidance and other medical resources describe CP as the result of abnormal brain development or injury during these critical periods of development https://cerebralpalsyguidance.com/2025/12/12/researchers-use-mri-to-diagnose-find-causes-of-cerebral-palsy-in-children/. Modern research also shows that in many children, genetics and other factors play an important role, not just birth complications. GeneDx notes that less than 10 percent of cerebral palsy cases are due to birth asphyxia alone and that up to one third of patients may have an identifiable genetic cause https://www.genedx.com/providers/indications/cerebral-palsy.
How newborn seizures and cerebral palsy are connected
The key link is that both newborn seizures and cerebral palsy can come from the same underlying brain injury or brain problem.
Neonatal seizures often appear in babies who have had:
• Oxygen deprivation during birth
• Brain bleeds or strokes
• Serious infections like meningitis
• Metabolic crises or other significant brain insults
The National Birth Injury Law Center explains that neonatal seizures are often tied to these birth related injuries and can be one of the early signs that a baby might later develop epilepsy, which is strongly linked to cerebral palsy https://www.nationalbirthinjurylaw.com/cerebral-palsy. In other words, seizures are a red flag that the brain has been affected, and any serious brain injury in a newborn can raise the risk of CP.
However, seizures do not automatically mean a baby will develop cerebral palsy. A 2026 multicenter study published in the journal Annals of Neurology followed children who had acute provoked neonatal seizures and checked their development at age 5 to 6 years. Researchers found that nearly two thirds of these children had typical development, although many still had some issues with behavior and executive function https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41482857/. This shows that a significant number of babies with early seizures do not go on to have cerebral palsy.
At the same time, children with a history of neonatal seizures are at higher risk of developmental problems, including CP, compared with babies who never had seizures. The exact risk depends on the cause, severity, and duration of the seizures and the type of brain injury involved.
Situations where the risk of cerebral palsy is higher
Certain patterns around birth and in the newborn period are known to be linked with a higher risk of cerebral palsy. Many of these are also situations where neonatal seizures are common.
Examples include:
Low Apgar scores
A low Apgar score at 5 minutes, especially below 7, suggests that the baby had difficulty with breathing, heart function, or other vital signs at birth. Research summarized in a 2025 article on risk factors for cerebral palsy shows that babies with a 5 minute Apgar score below 7 have a much higher risk of CP than those with normal scores https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01942638.2025.2608156?af=R. Babies with very low Apgar scores often require intensive help and may be more likely to experience seizures, which adds to the concern about brain injury.
Oxygen deprivation and birth asphyxia
When a baby does not get enough oxygen before or during birth, brain cells can be injured. This is a major cause of both neonatal seizures and later cerebral palsy. The National Birth
