What is the cause of the sunken fontanelle in babies?

Some babies have a sunken fontanelle, but parents don’t know what’s going on. Because the development of babies today is different, and some babies are born prematurely or have accidents at birth, which can cause a sunken fontanelle. There are many different reasons for this, and it still needs to be analyzed based on the baby's actual situation. So parents and friends don’t need to worry.

What is the cause of the sunken fontanelle in babies?

Due to incomplete ossification when the baby is born, there is a diamond-shaped unclosed depression on the top of the forehead, like a "skylight" without bone, which is medically called the "fontanelle", also called the anterior fontanelle. Under normal circumstances, the baby's anterior fontanelle is approximately 1.5×2 cm in size, and appears flat or slightly concave on the surface. In the first few months after birth, the anterior fontanelle will enlarge slightly as the head circumference gradually increases.

After the baby is 6 months old, the fontanelle will gradually become smaller due to the gradual ossification of the skull. When the baby is 1 to 1 and a half years old, the anterior fontanelle will basically be closed. The surface of the fontanelle is the scalp, underneath it is the meninges, and then the brain and cerebrospinal fluid. Place your finger gently on the fontanelle and you can feel the beating. This is the pulsation of the baby's cerebrospinal fluid pressure as the heartbeat and blood pressure change, consistent with the pulse.

When a normal baby is sitting, the fontanelle is slightly sunken. There is a posterior fontanelle along the cranial suture. When a normally developed child is born, the posterior fontanelle is basically closed. Even if it is not closed, it will close automatically three months after birth.

1. If the baby's fontanelle sinks in a short period of time, the most common reason is that the baby's body is lack of water. For example, if the baby does not replenish water in time after diarrhea, the anterior fontanelle will sink. If this happens, you need to ask a pediatrician as soon as possible to replenish your baby's fluids to prevent dehydration.

2. If it is a medical procedure, a large dose of dehydrating agent is used to reduce the baby's intracranial pressure, causing the anterior fontanelle to become sunken due to dehydration. Under the guidance of a professional physician, the baby's body should be replenished with water in time to prevent excessive dehydration from causing metabolic disorders in the body.

3. Due to improper feeding or the influence of illness, the baby may be malnourished and thin, and the baby's anterior fontanelle will often appear sunken. Under the guidance of a doctor, if you eat a reasonable diet and treat diseases in a timely manner, your baby's nutrition will be adequate and this phenomenon will disappear.

To sum up, the reasons for sunken fontanelle in babies need to be taken seriously by parents. We must pay attention to the child's nutritional supplements, especially the diet. We must let the baby eat more foods rich in nutrients and vitamins. This can ensure the healthy growth of babies and solve the problem of sunken fontanelle.