{"id":680358,"date":"2026-11-10T10:24:48","date_gmt":"2026-11-10T10:24:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/680358\/"},"modified":"2026-11-10T10:24:48","modified_gmt":"2026-11-10T10:24:48","slug":"cork-hospital-leading-the-charge-in-catching-cerebral-palsy-early-in-babies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/680358\/","title":{"rendered":"Cork hospital leading the charge in catching cerebral palsy early in babies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Helping get the care they need as soon as possible<\/p>\n

17:02, 04 Nov 2026Updated 10:01, 05 Nov 2026<\/p>\n

\"Cork<\/p>\n

Cork University Maternity Hospital(Image: reddyarchitecture.com)<\/p>\n

A life-changing condition is being diagnosed earlier than ever at Irish hospitals – helping parents get targeted therapies for babies at a key period of their lives.<\/p>\n

It comes as part of new early-detection pathways at four facilities, including Cork University Maternity Hospital (CUMH), signalling a “significant advance” in detecting cerebral palsy in babies. This is the name given to a group of conditions that affect movement, balance and posture. It’s caused by damage that occurs to a baby’s brain, most often before birth.<\/p>\n

The effects can vary widely. Some adults with cerebral palsy need assistance walking, while others may have intellectual disabilities or epilepsy, blindness or deafness. There is no cure, but treatments can make a big difference in improving people’s day-to-day lives.<\/p>\n

Early detection pathways have brought the average age at which the condition is diagnosed down from 24 months to just seven at four hospitals – CUMH, the Rotunda Hospital, the Coombe Hospital and the National Maternity Hospital. This helps children access targeted therapies and developmental support in very early stages of life, when the developing brain is particularly responsive to intervention.<\/p>\n

New research led by the INFANT Research Centre at UCC found significant improvements across all hospitals involved. Researchers examined outcomes for 1,161 infants at increased risk of cerebral palsy, comparing care before and after the introduction of new early detection pathways.<\/p>\n

Their study examined the impacts of new measures introduced by hospitals, including specialist neurological assessments at key stages of development, staff training and structured follow-up.<\/p>\n

Waterford parents Cl\u00edodhna and Brian Gallagher opened up about how their lives were benefited by early detection – as they said it made them feel “very lucky in an unlucky situation.”<\/p>\n

Their son MJ was born in October 2023 following complications at birth. He was diagnosed with cerebral palsy in February 2024, at just four months old, after participating in the research study at Cork University Hospital.<\/p>\n

The early diagnosis meant MJ could access tailored physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech and language therapy, while his parents received guidance on how best to support his development.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough it is not something any parent wants to hear, we were so grateful as it meant our gorgeous little boy could get the help and support needed,\u201d said Cl\u00edodhna.<\/p>\n

Work is already underway to extend the early detection pathways to additional services, including University Hospital Waterford and Children’s Health Ireland. Experts aim to standardise early assessment for children at increased risk of cerebral palsy across Ireland.<\/p>\n

UCC’s INFANT Research Centre also helped launch another resource to assist in identifying cerebral palsy <\/a>in children this month. Their PROMPT programme was introduced to GPs at an educational event at Cork University Hospital (CUH) on Tuesday, 13 October.<\/p>\n

It gives practitioners illustrated guidance on signs that warrant further investigation, such as a baby consistently favouring one hand unusually early or showing differences in movement between the two sides of their body. It connects these concerns with a clear, fast-track referral route to CUH\u2019s specialist service for babies under one.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Professor Deirdre Murray, UCC, pictured with GPs Dr Vivian Foley, & Dr Aideen Phelan, at Cork University Hospital for the introduction of a new guide to help GPs spot the early signs of cerebral palsy.(Image: OSM Photo)<\/p>\n

Professor Brian Walsh, lead author of the study, Consultant Neonatologist at Cork University Maternity Hospital and Principal Investigator at INFANT Research Centre, UCC, said: “Previously, children at increased risk of cerebral palsy were routinely followed in neonatal clinics, but many were around two years old before receiving a diagnosis. By introducing specialist assessments at key stages of development across four hospitals, we changed how these children were monitored.<\/p>\n

“With guidance and support from international experts, we adapted established recommendations to the Irish healthcare setting. The reduction in age at diagnosis was almost immediate, and importantly, it has been sustained.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Helping get the care they need as soon as possible 17:02, 04 Nov 2026Updated 10:01, 05 Nov 2026…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":680359,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[71494,103,86040,397,396,61,60],"class_list":["post-680358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-county-cork","tag-health","tag-health-and-wellbeing","tag-health-care","tag-healthcare","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/680358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=680358"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/680358\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/680359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=680358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=680358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=680358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}