Infant's head: what mom should know!

Mothers with experience of raising children often observe and pay attention to changes in the head font. So how important is this to children's health? Let's also find out!

What is head nodding?

The top of the head of the child has a completely unbroken bone called the head or head of the head. Many people think the head has only one part, but it actually has two parts. The front part is rhombic, the gap between the frontal bone and the top of the head bone. The back part is triangular, the gap between the top of the head and occipital bone.

While the fontanel is almost closed after the baby is born (if the rest is only very small like the tip of a nail and after 4 months of birth, it is almost completely closed) then the front font is undergoing a continuous change process. . Infants with an average fontanel of 2.1 cm, ranging from 0.6 to 3.6 cm. Especially with premature or term babies, the head is similar.

The time of closing

One year old, the fontanel can be completely closed.

When the mother touches the top of the baby's head, there is no soft skin, so the fontanel is closed. On average, each child takes about 14 months to close. Approximately 1% of children are surviving after 3 months of birth. With a one-year-old child, this rate is 38.8% and when the child is 2 years old, this rate is almost absolute 96%.

Function of fontanel

The front and back fontanel along with the elastic seams between the skull bones carry an extremely important task to protect the baby's brain from external effects. When the baby is vaginal, the baby's head is squeezed tight. Therefore, as an installation of the Creator, the head nodules now act as an opening for the brain to be elastic, helping the child to escape without pain or bleeding in the brain, eye area and periosteum.

In addition, when the baby is born, the fontanel acts as a cushion to protect the baby's brain from external tremors when the baby falls.

Size of fontanel

The shape of the fontanel is like a parallelogram, size from 0.5 x 0.5cm to 3 x 3cm. The largest size and the smallest size have a big difference for many different reasons. Partly due to the baby's head size prescribed. Another part is heredity. But a very interesting fact is that maternal menus in pregnancy are more prescriptive. If during the election period, the mother adds many foods and drinks rich in calcium, the fontanel size of the baby will be smaller.

Be alert when closing early or late

Early or later closure events may be a sign of a potential underlying condition that needs to be considered professionally.

The case of early closure

Capturing early will prevent the brain from developing and reducing children's intelligence. There are reasons to close early closing:

1. Natural.
2. The brain or head bone of the infant is too early.
3. Because mothers are exposed to X-rays for a long time
4. Some cases of encephalitis caused the brain to stop developing causing premature closure.

The crow closed late

If the fontanel does not close, even if it is over time or continues to expand when the child is older, it is likely because of poor thyroid function or rickets, malnutrition causes bone to slow down. On the other hand, it may be because the brain is abnormally large, which leads to the situation of being closed late.

Identify young health status through fontanel

The front concave may be a lack of water.

With normal children, flatness is flat. If observed, the fontanel inflates according to the young heartbeat. When touching the top of the head, the skin is soft and concave.

To observe, parents can look or touch to know their health status. If the baby is seen, one of the abnormal signs should be given to the child.

1. The frontal pimples bulge and look unusually plump. This demonstrates increased internal pressure, one of the manifestations of meningitis, hydrocephalus or blood pressure.
2. If the frontal concave can be observed, the child may be dehydrated due to vomiting or diarrhea or severe malnutrition.

Note: Each time the baby cries, the fontanel still sticks out. This is a normal situation, parents should not worry.