

When this happens, the force from the contractions continues pushing the head until it finds its way through the birth canal. One common cause is when a baby's head hits the mothers' pelvic bone as it goes through the birth canal. The exact cause of head trauma during delivery which causes cephalohematoma can vary. Intense pressure or trauma on the infant’s head during delivery or labor may cause the delicate blood vessels on the scalp to tear, causing a cephalohematoma. However, it may take many hours or days after birth before it forms. Newborn cephalohematoma usually occurs during the labor or delivery process.

Ī bulge alone may be enough for the diagnosis, but in some cases, your doctor may request additional tests, including: Usually, your doctor will carry out a full-body physical inspection on your newborn. Anemia: Low levels of red blood cells is another common symptom.Jaundice : In rare cases, cephalohematoma may increase the baby’s risk of developing newborn jaundice due to the excessive bilirubin levels in the blood.Infection: This is a harmful complication that may occur in some cases of infant cephalohematoma.Besides the bulge, newborn cephalohematoma may cause internal symptoms. It is a sign that the process of healing is going well. After several weeks the bulge starts shrinking, and in most cases, the center part of the bump dissolves before the outer edges creating a "crater-like" look. At first, the bump feels soft, but as the pooled blood begins to calcify, it feels harder and denser. Ĭephalohematoma varies in size and can be noticeable or less obvious.
Newborn phlo skin#
Generally, there will be no bruising, cuts, or reddening on the skin over the bulge.

The most common symptom is a soft bulge or a bump at the back of your baby’s head. While most newborn cephalohematoma usually resolves on its own without intervention, your doctor may recommend surgery to prevent complications in some cases. Cephalohematoma is one of the most common birth injuries affecting between 1 and 2 percent of all babies during and after birth. The bleeding is slow, and it may take hours or days following the birth for the cephalohematoma to form. Therefore, infant cephalohematoma doesn’t pose any danger to the baby’s brain. Since the blood build-up is on top of the skull, the baby’s brain is not at risk of pressure or bleeding because it’s beneath the skull bones. This happens because of ruptured or damaged, small blood vessels in the scalp. A pool of blood collects underneath the scalp and outside the skull. Newborn cephalohematoma is a birth injury caused by trauma or pressure to the head during labor or childbirth.
