Dent on the forehead of a newborn

1. Accidentally touching the fontanelles on the baby’s head

Despite doctors' warnings, you should not become hysterical if you accidentally touch these soft spots on your newborn's head. By the way, these places are called fontanelles. And when you touch them, you are not touching his brain. What are you touching then? The so-called membrane, consisting of dense connective tissue. The soft areas on the head are designed to allow the baby to move freely through the narrow birth canal. Thanks to the flexibility of the skull, this tiny head has already survived quite a traumatic journey without any harm, so your gentle touch will not harm it. And the fontanelles will heal sooner or later.

2. Pulsation in the fontanelles

When a child screams or plays, you can see pulsation of the brain vessels in the anterior fontanel. Don't panic. The fontanelles are located in areas of the skull that have not yet fused, and veins and arteries can sometimes be seen through the soft membrane. And pulsation is a normal development of the child’s circulatory system.

3. Blood in the diapers of a newborn girl

During pregnancy, a surge in maternal estrogen levels can stimulate the unborn baby's uterus. Therefore, some newborn girls experience a small amount of spotting during the first week of life. There is nothing wrong with this hormonal surge.

4. Small depression in the baby's chest

Relax – these are not heart problems. According to experts, the sternum consists of three parts. The indentation that is sometimes noticeable in some babies is most likely an inverted lower part of the sternum. As the child grows, the growing muscles of the chest and abdomen will straighten this depression. But, perhaps, even before this, the layers of growing fat will be leveled off the chest.

5. Loose stools after every feeding

Breastfed babies may have a bowel movement after each feeding because breast milk is digested very quickly. By the way, newborns who are bottle-fed may defecate less frequently. As for the consistency of stool, there is nothing surprising in this either - all babies are on a liquid diet.

6. Constant hiccups

Experts cannot agree on why newborns hiccup so often. Some believe this is because the brain and the diaphragm, the abdominal muscle that controls breathing, are still working somewhat inconsistently. However, regardless of the cause, hiccups are harmless and safe.

Babies have immature nervous systems and are easily startled. These are two reasons why they shed tears so often. In addition, crying is the only way a baby can communicate its needs and needs. So up to a certain point you are doomed to see tears and listen to screams. Don't worry about the baby - although he looks upset, the baby is not harming himself.

8. Rash or pimples on the face

Thanks to maternal hormones still circulating in small bodies, newborns often develop acne. As a rule, the rash goes away over time - from 2 weeks to 2 months. What to do? Just wash your baby gently and gently. There is no need to use your anti-acne gels and creams.

9. Swollen breasts

The same hormones that cause mini-periods in girls (see point 3) can cause swelling of the mammary glands in newborns of both sexes. Marvelous? Yes. Temporarily? Absolutely right. Exciting? In no case.

10. Endless sneezing

Babies have tiny noses. And even a tiny piece of stuck mucus, even a slight nasal congestion, can cause a baby to sneeze. And so time after time. If the sneezing is not accompanied by thick yellow mucus, which can signal that the baby is cold, then the newborn will simply outgrow this condition over time.

Many mothers know that the health and development of the baby is largely determined by the condition of his head. Some parents are worried about postpartum spots, others have heard about the dangers of birth injuries. So what can parents pay attention to when the baby is born? And when should you see a doctor to get the help you need?

Many mothers know that the health and development of the baby is largely determined by the condition of his head. Some parents are worried about postpartum spots, others have heard about the dangers of birth injuries. So what can parents pay attention to when the baby is born? And when should you see a doctor to get the help you need?

Compression and decompression

Mothers who are preparing for childbirth on their own or in courses for pregnant women have probably seen illustrations of the birth canal and imagine what a difficult path a child has to go through before being born. Nature has provided for everything: the structure of a baby’s skull is completely different from that of an adult. He has fontanelles, the bones of the skull are mobile due to the fact that all their joints are quite elastic, and thanks to this, during the birth process, the baby’s head is easily configured, adapting to the birth canal. Compression occurs. Of course, displacement of the skull bones is possible in this case, but, fortunately, nature has also provided the opposite mechanism - decompression, which turns on immediately after birth.

When the baby is born, he takes his first breath and screams loudly. At this moment, not only his lungs expand (which everyone knows), but also the membranes of his skull. Most of the forced deformations immediately disappear. The second force that helps a baby cope with birth deformities of the head is breastfeeding. The sucking movements that the baby makes when he takes the breast require motor activity of the wedge-shaped occipital joint, which works as a kind of lever that also helps the head to straighten. As a rule, these natural mechanisms are enough to ensure that everything is in order with the baby’s head.

Unfortunately, sometimes problems still arise. If the baby was weakened during pregnancy, he may have weaker reflexes than normal. After birth, he cannot take a deep breath or make a strong cry and, in particular, cannot straighten his head on his own. Sometimes, for some reason, the baby does not receive breastfeeding, and when feeding from a bottle, the mechanics of the movements are completely different - it does not activate the straightening of the skull bones, so some problems may remain uncorrected.

In children born by cesarean section, on the one hand, the head is not subject to compression (and this would seem to be a plus). On the other hand, there is no compression - there is no powerful push, as a result of which breathing is activated and the so-called cranial-sacral mechanism is correctly launched - the internal rhythm of the body necessary to activate its resources. As a result, Caesarean babies also need help to cope with head problems that could arise in utero or during labor if the Caesarean was unplanned and the baby's head experienced partial compression.

Premature babies can also be injured during childbirth - although their heads are not subject to as much compression due to their small size. The fact is that they can pass through the birth canal in a non-standard way (not through the back of the head, but in some other way), and this can also lead to injuries.

Finally, as a result of a long and difficult or quick birth, a healthy and strong baby can also injure his head. There is no need to worry too much: the brain is reliably protected, and all these troubles rarely lead to really serious consequences. However, sometimes it’s worth helping the baby recover a little.

Head and symptoms

The spots that you can notice on the baby’s head look like birthmarks, but gradually disappear. They say that strong pressure was applied to the baby's head in this place. Most likely, the baby will cope with the problem on his own, however, the coincidence of a spot in a certain part of the head and some clinical symptoms may indicate that it is worth contacting an osteopathic doctor, since the baby needs help.

Neck injuries usually accompanied by the following symptoms:

1. sucking disorder. Despite the fact that the baby is correctly applied to the breast, he cannot latch on normally or is uncomfortable sucking;
2. profuse and frequent regurgitation;
3. with severe lesions, problems with speech and vision, torticollis and descending scoliosis may occur in the future.

Damage in the area sphenoid bone may cause:

1. strabismus;
2. intracranial pressure;
3. motor speech disorder (it is difficult for the child to control the articulatory apparatus).

Damage temporal bone may cause:

1. hearing impairment;
2. problems with coordination of movements.

Damage frontal bone lead to:

Of course, with all these problems you can and should consult a doctor. Even if you do this when the baby has already grown up and the spots have disappeared, keep in mind such facts as postpartum spots, dilated veins in any part of the head, and peculiarities of the course of labor. An experienced doctor will always correlate the baby’s well-being and behavior with how the birth went and the results of a visual examination of his head. Quite often, parents attribute to their parental incompetence or the difficult nature of the baby those troubles that actually indicate displacement of the skull bones. But this can be easily corrected in the first months after childbirth.

What else should you pay attention to?

Not all problems are visible to the parent's eye, but here are the points that you can note yourself.

Sometimes parents notice a bluish or hematoma, and sometimes a cyst-like tumor (which can resolve or calcify and turn into a lump). Usually, with such phenomena, the baby’s jaundice lasts longer - this is a kind of symptom of the body’s protective reaction, which seeks to “resolve” this neoplasm.

Problems can be seen visually with lower jaw, if the baby cannot suck, you need to urgently consult a doctor, however, usually in the maternity hospital such pathologies are immediately noticed.

If the baby has it in the eye or both it's worth a tear - this indicates that there has been a displacement of the skull bones and the nasolacrimal duct is narrowed. It is best to consult an osteopathic doctor while the child is still small, because otherwise the baby will have problems with nasal breathing, adenoids, and otitis media.

Parents are often concerned about fontanelles. In some children, only the large fontanel is found, in others, both small and large, and in some children, the lateral fontanelles may also be open. This in itself is not scary. You shouldn’t worry if your baby’s fontanelle bulges when she screams—you should only be concerned if it’s bulging and at rest. In this case, the doctor may suspect an infection or neurological problem. While the fontanelles are open, an ultrasound of the brain can be done according to indications - this study can provide important information.

It is also worth paying attention to your personal feeling from the baby’s head. Normally, it should seem light and doll-like. If a newborn baby can “rest” your hand, this is a signal of trouble. A doctor should look into this: perhaps the baby has problems with fluid outflow and intracranial pressure.

Normally, children should have a symmetrical face and facial expressions. If it is obvious that one half of the face is less mobile than the other, you need to consult a specialist.

Big? Small?

Some parents are concerned about the size of their baby's head. Normally, its girth at birth is Deviations from the norm do not always indicate pathology; quite often a genetic factor is triggered: one of the parents had a large or small head.

During the first month, the head circumference increases by an average of 1 month. During the first month, the head and chest circumferences become comparable, then the rate of breast growth outpaces the growth of the head. For an approximate estimate, there is an empirical calculation formula: at 6 months, the head circumference (CH) is on average 43 cm, for each month up to 6, 1.5 cm is subtracted, for each month above, 0.5 cm is added. During the first year, the CG increases on average, the head grows most intensively in a full-term baby in the first 3 months, in a premature baby - later, during the period of pronounced weight gain.

At birth, the head may be smaller - in premature babies or if the baby experienced severe compression during birth. Also, a small head occurs with microcephaly, which mothers are so afraid of. However, it must be remembered that with true congenital microcephaly, the size of the skull is already small in utero, at the birth of a child the sutures are narrowed, the fontanelles are closed or small in size with dense edges, the head is of a specific shape - the brain skull is smaller than the facial skull, the forehead is small, sloping, the line of the forehead and nose is sloping, as a rule, multiple minor developmental anomalies and severe neurological pathology are present. If your baby does not have these anomalies, there is no need to think about microcephaly.

Mothers are also afraid of hydrocephalus, however, this anomaly is accompanied by severe symptoms. A progressive excessive increase in the size of the skull is accompanied by divergence of the sutures, an increase in the size of the fontanelles, their bulging even at rest, and a pronounced venous network on the head. In this case, the cerebral skull significantly predominates over the facial skull, and the frontal part protrudes sharply. The child develops poorly and has pronounced neurological symptoms. In other words, hydrocephalus cannot be ignored either.

Head sizes larger or smaller than average are most often a constitutional feature, i.e. the child repeats one of the parents, grandparents, etc. Of primary importance, of course, is the overall development of the baby. If it is generally normal, there is no need to be afraid of dire diagnoses.

Precautionary measures

On the one hand, nature has made babies resilient. On the other hand, the baby’s head and cervicothoracic region are quite fragile. Here's what parents need to remember so as not to harm their child.

You need to take the baby in your arms so that his head does not “loop” around. Always support him under his head, do not lift him by his arms or shoulders. The fact is that the vagus nerve, which regulates many body functions, runs not far from the baby’s occipital bone. If the baby experiences a displacement in this area and the nerve is pinched, this will manifest itself in a variety of symptoms: from problems with bowel movements to problems with motor development. For the same reason, in the first two to three weeks, it is better for early swimmers not to do figure eights and other exercises with the baby that can cause displacement in the cervicothoracic region.

The baby can be carried in a sling, where his head is held securely, and for transportation in a car you need to use a special car seat. But a kangaroo backpack, the back of which does not secure the head and neck, cannot be used until the baby holds his head completely confidently, like an adult.

Remember that nature has provided all possible ways to protect the brain from possible injuries, and has also built into the crumbs a huge resource for the body’s self-healing. Breastfeeding, skin-to-skin contact, positive emotions - all this greatly helps the baby overcome the stress of childbirth.

When will the fontanelle close and what should the child’s head circumference be?

What can the shape of a newborn’s head and its size tell parents? What “signals” does the large fontanel give about the baby’s condition? We dispel the fears and doubts of mothers.

Newborn's fontanel

A small dimple on the crown of the child - the fontanelle - performs an important task during the birth of the baby. And even after birth, she is assigned a serious role, and along with this, special attention from mothers and doctors.

Fontanas are areas at the junctions of the cranial bones, covered instead of bone tissue with soft elastic membranes. Thanks to them, the baby's head is plastic and during childbirth can adapt to the curves of the mother's pelvis. The volume and size of the baby’s head decreases at the time of birth, which helps protect both the baby’s brain and the mother’s organs from damage.

There are six fontanelles in total, but in full-term babies at the time of birth, as a rule, only one remains open, in the area of ​​the crown - the so-called large fontanel. Normally, its size ranges from 0.5 to 3 cm, and its shape resembles a diamond. After birth, it helps the baby adapt to a changing external environment: maintain body temperature, regulate fluctuations in intracranial pressure.

We have been involuntarily trying to get around this large fontanel all year, when we stroke the child’s head, take off his cap, and comb it. Just under the skin, thin and shiny, there is a strong but elastic membrane, which will later be replaced by bone, and beneath it a fairly large vein pulsates. It is she who swells, transmitting vibrations of the arteries and heart when the baby cries, screams or takes a deep breath.

The large fontanel overgrows gradually and finally closes between 6 and 18 months. When exactly this happens depends primarily on the characteristics of the baby’s body. Although too slow or, conversely, rapid overgrowth of the fontanel can be a sign of illness, not by itself, but together with other symptoms. So, most often the “dent” heals too slowly due to rickets. It also happens that the fontanel disappears already in the first six months of the baby’s life - the reason for this is a violation of the metabolism of calcium and phosphorus in the body.

The "hollow" does not require special care. You can touch the fontanel with your hand or with a comb - although, of course, you shouldn’t put too much pressure on it, as well as on any other part of the child’s body.

By the appearance of the fontanel, you can assess the condition of the baby. Normally, it should neither swell nor sink; touching the fontanel with your fingers, you can easily feel the pulsation.

You should consult a doctor if the fontanel becomes hard to the touch, no pulsation can be felt inside it, it swells or sinks, and the baby is worried or, conversely, looks lethargic (normally, the fontanel can swell when the baby cries, but then quickly returns to its original form). When the fontanel is pulled inward, this may indicate severe dehydration of the child: he should be seen by a doctor immediately.

Shape and size of a newborn's head

The head shape of newborn babies can be not only round, but also elongated, flattened, ovoid - and all these options are considered the norm. Why is this happening?

By the time they are born, the skull bones of babies are not yet very dense (they will have to completely harden during the first year of life), and the seams between them have not yet had time to heal. During birth, the bones overlap each other, allowing the baby to move out more easily. That is why, after a natural birth, the shape of the head is, as a rule, slightly elongated, while in small “Caesareans” it is smooth and round. Due to the vicissitudes of traveling through the birth canal, a baby may be born with an asymmetrical head, and sometimes also with a lump (cephalohematoma) or edema (the so-called birth edema).

At birth, the baby's head is approximately 2 cm larger in circumference than the chest. But it happens that these sizes increase even more: this happens if cerebrospinal fluid accumulates in the cranial cavity. Then the upper part becomes larger than the lower part, a heavy forehead hangs over the eyes and nose, and doctors talk about hydrocephalus. This problem can arise if during pregnancy a woman suffered a severe infection that affected the unborn baby. In this case, doctors will immediately begin treatment of the child, and in a few months his head may approach normal size.

The situation is considered more serious when the newborn, on the contrary, has a too small head (microcephaly). Sometimes this happens due to genetic disorders that will prevent the baby from developing normally. Fortunately, in many cases the reason for the unusual shape or size of the head turns out to be much simpler: the child can inherit all these features from his parents.

Only a doctor can correctly assess the baby’s head circumference, so there is no point in parents arming themselves with a centimeter themselves. But this indicator will tell specialists whether the child’s brain is developing correctly.

Normally, newborns have a head circumference of 34–36 cm. At first, the head grows quite quickly, by about 1.5 cm per month; after 3 months - by 0.5–1 cm and by 6 months it reaches 43 cm in girth. If the baby is far ahead of the norm or behind it, this may indicate problems with the nervous system.