The most beautiful event for women is the first meeting with her child, whom she wore for 9 months and all this time only guessed what he would look like. But finally, the moment of childbirth comes, and the long-awaited meeting takes place. Probably, each mother carefully studies the appearance of her child, and if she pays attention to other babies, she will notice that not everyone has the same shape of the skull. In this regard, the question may arise: why?
Skull shapes in children
Doctors distinguish two main types of skull forms in babies:
- Dolichocephalic head shape. In this case, it has an oval and oblong shape.
- Brachycephalic head shape. With her, the skull has a rounded shape.
These forms in medicine are considered normal.
Reasons for deviations
In general, there are several reasons why babies are born with different forms of the head. First of all, it depends on how the baby was born. And today there are two ways of giving birth:
- natural;
- cesarean section.
The fact is that when a child advances through the birth canal, he is under pressure. During this follow-up, the baby's skull adapts to the structure of the mother's organs, and a dolichocephalic head shape is formed. The skull can change its shape due to the fontanel and the elastic membranes that connect its bones in the baby. Therefore, the dolichocephalic form of the head is more common in those newborns who were born naturally.
It is also believed that the elongated shape of the skull in the fetus is formed with occipital presentation. This occurs when the mentioned area of the baby’s head during the birth process first passes through the birth canal.
Children born by Caesarean section are not subjected to pressure, so the skull retains its original rounded, brachycephalic shape. Interestingly, the dolichocephalic shape of the head of the newborn of these two norms is considered more acceptable. Indeed, with the natural appearance of the child, the whole body of the newborn is launched.
With caesarean section, especially when it is planned and started without waiting for the onset of labor, a natural launch in the body of the newborn does not occur. Therefore, in babies born by this method, adaptation to life outside the womb can occur somewhat differently than in children born naturally.
Pathological forms of the skull of newborns
There are several pathological forms of the skull of newborns:
- Plagiocephaly, or “flat head”. With this pathology, the frontal or occipital part is flattened, and the head is asymmetric.
- Acrocephaly. With this pathology, the newborn has a conical, elongated head shape. Sutures of the bones of the skull prematurely heal.
- Scafocephaly. It is characterized by the fact that with it an early ossification of the skull occurs, while its frontal or occipital parts can significantly bulge.
Head circumference in newborns
Not only the weight and height of the newborn matters, but also the size of the head, as well as its circumference. These indicators can tell doctors a lot about the physical condition of a baby being born.
The size and circumference of the head is measured with a soft centimeter tape at the most convex places - the nape and eyebrow lines. The head circumference of a newborn is measured from the second to the fourth day of his life, after the disappearance of postpartum edema.
A circle of 35 centimeters is considered the norm, but fluctuations from 32 to 38 cm are the norm of deviation. With any of these indicators, the head circumference in children is 2.5 cm larger than the size of the chest. When the baby is 5 months old, these indicators should become equal. And by one year, the chest in the child should already exceed the head circumference by the same 2.5 cm.
If, after measurements, it became obvious that there was a deviation, this indicates a possible pathology. To determine it more accurately, you need to know which way the deviation is - to a greater or lesser extent.
Hydrocephalus
There are several types of possible pathologies. One of them is a disease such as hydrocephalus (or, in other words, dropsy). With this ailment, an increase in the volume of cerebrospinal fluid in the child’s skull is observed.
Photos of newborn children with this problem clearly show that the size of the head is greatly increased, the brain is larger than the front, and the frontal part is very forward. The accumulation of this fluid leads to an increase in intracranial pressure.
Symptoms of hydrocephalus
Symptoms of dropsy, or hydrocephalus, are:
- an increase in head circumference;
- the baby’s skull continues to increase after birth;
- the child lags behind in development ;
- he is irritable, lethargic, tearful, and sometimes, on the contrary, becomes aggressive;
- the baby may experience headaches;
- he often has nausea and vomiting;
- doctors usually detect changes in the fundus;
- epileptic seizures are possible;
- urinary incontinence.
If the child is diagnosed with hydrocephalus, then it must be shown to a neurosurgeon. Most often, this disease is treated surgically, and the neurosurgeon after examination and a thorough examination gives evidence or contraindications for the upcoming operation.
After successful surgery, the disease, as a rule, does not progress. A child can attend ordinary preschool institutions (kindergartens) and a school with his peers. Sometimes treatment is carried out without surgery, with the use of drugs that reduce the production of cerebrospinal fluid. In this case, the shape of the skull gradually returns to normal.
Microcephaly
The second type of possible pathology of the newborn is a disease such as microcephaly. With it, a decrease in brain mass in a newborn is observed, in contrast to healthy children, and a decrease in the size of the head circumference associated with this.
There are many reasons that provoke the development of this ailment. It can be various infectious diseases transferred during pregnancy, intoxication of the fetus in the womb with alcohol, tobacco and drugs. Such effects are especially dangerous in the early stages of pregnancy, when all the organs and systems of the baby are just forming.
The use of certain antibiotics during pregnancy has a negative effect. The effects of radioactive radiation, toxic poisoning of the fetus, genetic abnormalities and birth injuries can also cause the development of microcephaly in newborns. In this case, the child’s skull will be noticeably smaller in comparison with children who do not have pathology.
Symptoms of Microcephaly
Microcephaly of the newborn can be recognized even visually, without conducting additional examinations. The following symptoms are associated with this disease:
- The circumference of the head in a newborn is 2-3 times different from the norm in a smaller direction. If in healthy children it is 32-38 cm, then in newborns with microcephaly, this figure is only 25-27 centimeters. In the photo of newborn children with microcephaly, it is seen that their skull shape is changed - the child’s face grows, and the head itself remains small.
- The weight of the brain in healthy children is approximately 400 g, and in newborns with microcephaly, it fluctuates around 250 g.
- Frequent companions of this disease are deviations such as "cleft lip", squint, "cleft palate".
- Children with microcephaly are born with a closed fontanel, or its closure occurs in the first month of life.
- The kid noticeably lags behind in emotional and speech development. Moreover, he not only cannot reproduce words and sounds, but also practically does not understand the speech made by others.
Microcephaly is currently, unfortunately, an incurable disease. Treatment is mainly aimed at reducing the development of defects.
Macrocephaly
Another type of possible pathology is macrocephaly. In medicine, this is called an increase in the volume of the skull and the weight of the brain in the absence of dropsy. With this disease, the weight of the brain can reach 2850 grams. This pathology can be asymptomatic, and the appearance of the brain in this case is practically no different from normal.
Macrocephaly is a congenital disease, but sometimes it can occur after birth. Unfortunately, the reasons why it arises are currently unknown.
Even if your newborn has a dolichocephalic head shape and does not have any deviations and pathologies in the shape of a skull, it is necessary to properly care for the baby to prevent the appearance of postpartum pathologies. The fact is that the bones of the skull of the newly born crumbs are relatively soft, not hardened, so when the baby is in a long position in one position, the bones of the skull become deformed, and the head eventually acquires an irregular shape. In order for the dolichocephalic shape of the head in the fetus to change, in the first 12 weeks of life, parents need to change the position of the newborn as often as possible, each time laying it on the other side.