Is your baby's anterior fontanelle sunken?

The baby is a new little life that comes out of the mother's body and comes to this strange world. The environment in this world is completely different from the environment in the mother's body. It takes the baby a long time to adapt to such an environment. But not all babies can adapt well and may get sick for some reason. But the baby's body will have early signs, such as a sunken anterior fontanelle.

Anterior fontanelle

If you touch the baby along the midline of the top of the head, you will find that the baby's skull has an opening in the front and back. They feel soft to the touch. The front end is called the anterior fontanelle and is diamond-shaped. It is the largest bone suture intersection on the skull. Because there is no bone here, it is slightly sunken and softer than other parts, and it will vibrate slightly when touched. Six months after the baby is born, the anterior fontanelle becomes smaller as the skull sutures gradually ossify. It closes and is replaced by bone by the baby's first year old, or no later than 18 months.

Although the baby's fontanelle is not big, it is a very important window for every parent to observe whether the baby is healthy or not. By observing this small window when the baby is less than 1 year old, many diseases can be discovered early, allowing the baby to be diagnosed and treated early.

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.

Based on the above introduction about the baby's anterior fontanelle, everyone must know what the fontanelle is and what the anterior fontanelle is. Moreover, the shape of the baby's anterior fontanelle gradually changes according to the baby's growth. At a certain period, the baby's fontanelle will close. However, if a friend's baby's anterior fontanelle does not change according to the correct growth rules, for example, the baby's anterior fontanelle is sunken, then parents should pay attention.