Medline Plus Medical Encyclopedia: Infant Soft Spots

Saturday, May 12, 2018

Infant Soft Spots

Your baby has two soft spots or fontanelles on his head. The soft spot in your babys head is tense and bulging.

Baby Sunken Fontanelle Soft Spot Causes And Treatment

The larger of the two is located on the very top of the head.

Infant soft spots. Babies are born with soft spots on their heads. This common condition is called plagiocephaly and it is not dangerous to your babys. The soft spot looked a bit sunken in and the 2 parts of the skull that are to the left and right of the soft spot were very prominent.

The larger soft spot anterior fontanelle is toward the front of the head and the smaller soft spot posterior fontanelle is toward the back. These soft spots are spaces between the bones of the skull where bone formation isnt complete. These soft open areas of the skull are called fontanelles.

Sometimes when a baby sleeps in the same position the soft plates may develop a flat spot or uneven appearance. As the baby grows these plates grow gradually harden and knit together. A stiff neck means your child cant touch the chin to the chest.

Youll notice two soft areas at the top of your babys head where the skull bones havent yet grown together. They allow your babys brain to grow larger at a fast rate over their first year of life. Bulging Soft Spot.

The second smaller one is located toward the back of babys head. In newborns soft spots are found on the top back and sides of the head. The front is the fontanel and the one in the back is the posterior fontanel.

These are actually open spaces in the bones of the skull. All babies are born with two soft spots fontanelles on their heads. To test for a stiff neck lay your child down.

Its important to avoid pressing into their soft spots as it. This is why fontanels or soft spots usually do not close before your baby is 18 to 24 months of age. When a babys born they typically have several fontanels where.

Baby soft spots are made up of two open areas known as the fontanels There is one large one in the front and the second is a smaller spot in the back of the head. This allows the skull to be molded during birth. The physical examination includes inspection of the infants head and may involve palpation carefully feeling of the childs skull for suture ridges and soft spots the fontanelles as well as checking for neck tightness and other deformities.

The number of soft spots on your babys head depends on their age. An infant is born with two major soft spots on the top of the head called fontanels. The molding process of the skull continues for months after birth and results in the closure of these soft spots.

If you do not have much experience with newborns soft spots may make you nervous but they are easy to care for and generally close correctly on their own. When the soft spot closes before the age of one or the babys head circumference doesnt increase your doctor may refer you to a specialist. Fontanelles or soft spots provide flexibility to the babys skull to pass through the birth canal.

If you gently touch these areas youll notice that they arent hard like the rest of babys head or skull. Baby soft spots allow the brain to grow symmetrically inside the skull during the first years. This scared the shit out of me so my husband called the after hours number and the person he spoke with said not to worry too much.

And that it could. They also accommodate your babys rapidly growing brain during infancy. These softer areas are made up of immature skull bones that are still forming and expanding as your babys brain grows.

A babys soft spots are called fontanelles. Then lift his head until the chin touches the chest. The smaller spot at.

This means the brain is under pressure. A fontanel also called fontanelle is more commonly known as a soft spot. I ran my hand over it and could easily feel the ridges.

Newborn babies skulls are soft plates with spaces between them. If he fights you place a toy or coin on the belly. These spots called fontanels allow a babys relatively large head to move through the narrow birth canal.

They also allow the brain to grow along with the skull bones.

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