ABSTRACT
It had been thought that birth asphyxia or birth damage was the main cause of later problems such as cerebral palsy. However, over the past 20 years obstetric care has improved considerably, but there has not been a commensurate decrease in the incidence of cerebral palsy. Thus, although there are still instances of obvious birth asphyxia causing brain damage, the majority of children with learning difficulties have, in retrospect, had an entirely normal and uneventful birth. Antenatal events, either inherent in the fetus or secondary to maternal or intrauterine problems, constitute the major cause of learning difficulties in children.
