07/04/2024
A newborn’s scull ✨ “Soft Spots” ✨
Although the skull appears to be 1 large bone, there are actually several major bones that are connected together. The major bones that compose the skull are 2 frontal bones, 2 parietal bones & 1 occipital bone.
A newborn baby’s skull is made up of sections of bone, known as plates, that cover the brain & are joined together by fibrous joints called sutures. The sutures function as seams, & they are very much necessary to facilitate the movement, molding & giving some flexibility to allow your baby’s head to narrow slightly as it travels through the birth canal. They also allow for rapid postnatal growth & development of the brain in the first years of life. However, the bones that shape the cranium begin unfused, leaving several gaps between the individual bones of the infant’s skull. These gaps are composed of membranous connective tissue & are known as fontanelles. Fontanelles, often referred to as “soft spots,” & is a special feature that is important for the normal growth & development of your baby’s brain & skull. Six fontanelles are present during infancy, with the most notable being the anterior at the top of your baby’s head & posterior located at the back of your baby’s head. The posterior fontanelle usually closes by the time your baby is about 2 months old. The anterior fontanelle can close any time between 4 & 26 months of age. The anterior fontanelle tends to close earlier in male than in female children. Your baby’s fontanelle should feel soft & flat. If you softly touch a fontanelle, you may at times feel a slight pulsation due to blood flow in the blood vessels around the brain, this is normal. If you notice that your baby’s fontanelles are low or sunken, your baby may be dehydrated. A bulging or swollen fontanelle may indicate rare but serious conditions such as meningitis or encephalitis (infections in the brain), cerebral haemorrhage (bleeding in the brain), hydrocephalus, an abscess or another cause of increased pressure in the brain. If your baby’s fontanelle changes, or feels different to how it usually does, show your doctor or midwife.
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