In the United States, approximately 10,000 infants and babies are born with CP each year, and 1200–1500 are diagnosed at preschool age when symptoms become more obvious. Those with extremely mild spastic CP may not even be aware of their condition until much later in life: Internet chat forums have recorded men and women as old as 30 who were diagnosed only recently with their spastic CP. Overall, advances in care of pregnant mothers and their babies have not resulted in a noticeable decrease in CP; in fact, because medical advances in areas related to the care of premature babies have resulted in a greater survival rate in recent years, it is actually more likely for infants with cerebral palsy to be born into the world now than it would have been in the past. Only the introduction of quality medical care to locations with less-than-adequate medical care has shown any decreases in the incidences of CP; the rest either have shown no change or have actually shown an increase. The incidence of CP increases with premature or very low-weight babies regardless of the quality of care. See also
Inclusion (disability rights)
Cerebral palsy
Spasticity
Gamma amino butyric acid
Rhizotomy
Tizanidine

References
Further reading
Miller, F.; Bachrach, S.J. (2006). Cerebral Palsy A Complete Guide for Caregiving (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0801883552. Miller, Freeman; Bachrach, Steven J. (1998). Cerebral Palsy: A Complete Guide for Caregiving. Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-5949-6. Kasper, D.L. et al. (2005), Harrisons Principles of Internal Medicine, McGraw-Hill
Collison, L (2020). Spastic Diplegia - Bilateral Cerebral Palsy.
Balance problems and/or stiffness in gait can range from barely noticeable all the way to misalignments so pronounced that the person needs crutches (typically forearm crutches/lofstrand crutches) or a cane / walking stick to assist in ambulation. Less often, spasticity is severe enough to compel the person to use a wheelchair. In general, however, lower-extremity spasticity in spastic diplegia is rarely so great as to totally prevent ambulation—most people with the condition can walk, and can do so with at least a basic amount of overall stability. Regardless, from case to case, steeply varying degrees of imbalance, potential tripping over uneven terrain while walking, or needing to hold on to various surfaces or walls in certain circumstances to keep upright, are typically ever-present potential issues and are much more common occurrences amongst those with spastic diplegia than among those with a normal or near-normal gait pattern. Among some of the people with spastic diplegia who choose to be ambulatory on either an exclusive or predominant basis, one of the seemingly common lifestyle choices is for the person to ambulate within his or her home without an assistive device, and then to use the assistive device, if any, once outdoors. Others may use no assistive device in any indoor situation at all, while always using one when outdoors.