title: A special supplement: findings from the Australian Cerebral Palsy Register, birth years 1993 to 2006.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To briefly outline the strengths and limitations of cerebral palsy (CP) registers, and to report on findings of the Australian Cerebral Palsy Register (ACPR) pertaining to a population cohort of children with CP.
  
  
  METHODS
  De-identified data were extracted from the ACPR for people with CP in birth years 1993 to 2006, from South Australia, Victoria, and Western Australia. Live birth prevalence of CP was estimated and risk factors described.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The overall birth prevalence of CP (including those whose CP was postneonatally acquired) for the 1993 to 2006 birth cohort was 2.1 per 1000 live births (95% confidence interval [CI] 2.0-2.2). Excluding cases with a known postneonatal cause, the birth prevalence for pre/perinatally acquired CP was 2.0 per 1000 live births (95% CI 1.9-2.1). A downward trend in rates of CP in those born extremely preterm was evident over at least three consecutive periods across all three regions. Most (58.6%) children were born at term (≥ 37 wks). Male sex, early gestational age, low birthweight, and multiple birth were risk factors for CP.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overall rates of CP did not change during this period. The proportion of those with CP born extremely preterm decreased. The ACPR Group will investigate whether this pattern continues when data pertaining to the next birth cohort for all three regions becomes available.
authors.affiliation: Cerebral Palsy Alliance, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.|Discipline of Paediatrics and Child Health, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Hayley
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Smithers-Sheedy
authors.affiliation: Cerebral Palsy Alliance, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: McIntyre
authors.affiliation: South Australian Birth Defects Register, Women's and Children's Hospital, Women's and Children's Health Network, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gibson
authors.affiliation: Developmental Disability and Rehabilitation Research, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
authors.forename: Elaine
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Meehan
authors.affiliation: South Australian Birth Defects Register, Women's and Children's Hospital, Women's and Children's Health Network, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.affiliation: Cerebral Palsy Alliance, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.|Discipline of Paediatrics and Child Health, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Shona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Goldsmith
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Watson
authors.affiliation: Cerebral Palsy Alliance, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.|Discipline of Paediatrics and Child Health, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, NSW, Australia.|The Grace Centre for Newborn Care, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Nadia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Badawi
authors.affiliation: Cerebral Palsy Alliance, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.|The Grace Centre for Newborn Care, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.affiliation: Cerebral Palsy Alliance, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Iona
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Novak
authors.affiliation: Telethon Kids Institute, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.
authors.forename: Eve
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Blair
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D001724:Birth Weight; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D050498:Live Birth; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012042:Registries; D012307:Risk Factors