Neonatal stroke causes poor midline motor behaviors and poor fine and gross motor skills during early infancy.

Chao-Qian et al. (2013) watched one baby who had a stroke at birth. They filmed how long the baby played at midline. They also gave the BSID-III motor test at 2, 4, 6, 9 and 12 months.

They compared the baby’s scores and play time to typically developing babies of the same age.

The baby with stroke spent much less time holding toys at midline. Fine and gross motor scores on the BSID-III stayed below average across every visit.

Delays showed up as early as two months, before parents usually notice problems.

De Kegel et al. (2016) saw the same early motor lag in babies with congenital CMV. Both studies used the BSID-III and found low gross motor scores before six months. This backs up the stroke finding.

Rajvanshi et al. (2023) widened the lens. They scanned 72 % of kids with any developmental delay and found most had signs of old brain injury. Their data extend the single stroke case to a big delay group.

Modabbernia et al. (2016) pooled 67 studies and showed that any neonatal brain insult, not just stroke, raises later risk of ID and ASD. The single stroke baby fits inside their bigger risk curve.

You can spot trouble in the first two months by simply timing midline play and running the BSID-III. No special gear needed. Early flags let you start motor coaching, refer to physio, and track progress long before the six-month check-up.