This site is intended to provide information on the associated conditions of cerebral palsy.
Children with cerebral palsy can have a variety of bowel and bladder related conditions.
Constipation is a common problem with any child, but children with cerebral palsy are more likely to suffer this due to being confined to bed or insufficient intake of fluids.
Another condition which occurs more frequently when a child has cerebral palsy is incontinence.
Incontinence is the inability to prevent the accidental evacuation of feces or urine. There are many steps involved with learning to control one's bowel and bladder functions. Children who are developmentally delayed (another associated condition of cerebral palsy) can take longer to toilet train than other children.
Incontinence may also be caused by a physical problem with the nerves going to the bladder, which can cause urine to leak out slowly. This specific nerver problem is an uncommon condition and is much more likely to occur in children with spina bifida.
Seizures may also cause the loss of bladder and bowel control, though in this case the cause is not cerebral palsy itself but rather the seizure.