The purpose of this study was to look for physical growth retardation in infants with delayed development or with risk factors for cerebral palsy.

The subjects of this study were 524 infants under 1 year of age who visited the Department of Rahabilitation Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine with the problem of delayed development or with risk factors for cerebral palsy from December 1987 to December 1991.

They were evaluated on the 7 postural reactions as suggested by Vojta. Additionally, the head circumference, chest circumference, height and body weigh were measured at each of the periodic follow-ups.

Results
were as follows:

1) Growth retardation was prominent in head circumference and body weight, and the higher the grade of central coordination disturbance, the greater the tendency of growth retardation.

2) The cerebral palsy group showed generally lower physical growth parameters than normal especially in head circumference at around the age of 12 months.

3) The parameters of physical growth in the normal development group approximated Korean standard values at around the age of 12 months, but persistent delays were seen in the cerebral palsy group in head circumference and body weight.

According to the above results, physical growth retardation was frequently seen in infants with delayed development or with risk factors for cerebral palsy, and in the group whose members were diagnosed with cerebral palsy, physical growth retardation was persistently found.

A further study should be planned to estabilish the influence of the central nervous system on physical growth.