Fontanelles Baby Head
The fontanel on the back of the head usually disappears by 1 to 2 months of age.
Fontanelles baby head. There are normally several fontanelles on a newborn s skull. The fontanelle on the top of her head is the anterior fontanelle. The number of soft spots on your baby s head depends on their age.
You may never be able to feel or see this one. This may force growth to occur in another area or direction resulting in an abnormal head shape. During birth fontanelles enable the bony plates of the skull to flex allowing the child s head to pass through the birth canal.
The spaces between the skull bones leave room for the rapid expansion of the brain and head. The posterior fontanelle generally closes between 6 weeks and 3 months after birth. There are two fontanelles the space between the bones of an infant s skull where the sutures intersect that are covered by tough membranes.
Like the sutures fontanelles harden over time and become closed solid bony areas. The ossification of the bones of the skull causes the anterior fontanelle to close over by 9 to 18 months. Likewise if there is a narrowing of the cranial cavity that could generate a space conflict it can also be related to an anomaly of the baby s fontanelles.
Sometimes the fontanelles close prematurely and if this closure is complete a condition known as craniosynostosis is suspected where the baby s head also has an abnormal shape. The soft spots are known as fontanelles. Fontanelles allow the bones of the skull to move so the baby s head can change shape during delivery the birth canal is narrow and the movement of the bones helps the baby s head to get through.
A newborn s head is small but it grows quickly over the first two years of life. It is the first to close. The fontanelles allow for growth of the brain and skull during an infant s first year.