Dolichocephalic shape of the head: norm and pathology

The most wonderful event for women is the first meeting with her child, which she carried in herself for 9 months and all this time she only guessed what it would look like. But at last the moment of childbirth comes, and a long-awaited meeting takes place. Probably, every mother carefully studies the appearance of her child, and if she pays attention to other babies, she will notice that not everyone has the same skull shape. In this connection, the question may arise: why?

Skull forms in children

Doctors distinguish two main types of skull forms in babies:

1. Dolichocephalic shape of head. In this case, it has an oval and oblong shape.
2. Brachycephalic shape of head. Her skull is round in shape.

These forms in medicine are considered normal.

Causes of abnormalities

In general, there are several reasons why children are born with different forms of the head. First of all, it depends on how the baby was born. And today there are two ways of giving birth:

• Natural;
• cesarean section.

The fact is that when the child is moving along the birth canal, he is under pressure. During this sequence, the skull of the toddler adapts to the structure of the mother's organs, and a dolichocephalic shape of the head is formed. The skull can change its shape due to the fontanel and the elastic membranes that connect its bones to the baby. Therefore, the dolichocephalic shape of the head is more common in those newborns that have been born in a natural way.

It is also believed that the elongated shape of the skull in the fetus is formed in the occipital presentation. This occurs when the above-mentioned area of the baby's head during the birth of the first passes through the birth canal.

Children born by caesarean section do not undergo pressure, therefore the skull retains its original round, brachycephalic shape. It is interesting that the dolichocephalic shape of a newborn's head from these two norms is considered more acceptable. After all, with the natural appearance of a child, the entire organism of the newborn is launched.

With caesarean section, especially when it is planned and started without waiting for the onset of labor, there is no natural start in the body of the newborn. Therefore, in children who were born by this method, adaptation to life outside the womb of the mother may occur somewhat differently than in children born naturally.

Pathological forms of the skull of newborns

There are several pathological forms of the skull of newborns:

1. Plagiocephaly, or "flat head". With this pathology, the frontal or occipital part is flattened, and the head is asymmetric.
2. Acrocephaly. With this pathology, the neonates have a conical, elongated shape of the head. The seams of the skull bones are prematurely infected.
3. Scaphocephaly. Characterized by the fact that it causes an early ossification of the skull, while its frontal or occipital parts may protrude considerably.

Head circumference in newborns

Not only does the weight and height of the newborn matter, but the size of the head, as well as its circumference. These indicators can tell doctors a lot about the physical condition of the child who was born.

The size and circumference of the head is measured with a soft centimetric tape along the most convex places - the nape and the lines of the eyebrows. Measure the circumference of the head of the newborn from the second to the fourth day of his life, after the disappearance of postnatal edema.

The norm is a circumference of 35 centimeters, but a swing of 32 to 38 cm is the norm of deviation. With any of these indicators, the head circumference in children is 2.5 cm larger than the chest size. When the baby is 5 months old, the above indices should become equal. And by one year the chest of the child should already exceed the circumference of the head by the same 2.5 cm.

If after the measurements it became obvious that there is a deviation, this indicates a possible pathology. For its more precise definition, it is necessary to know in which direction the deviation is greater or less.

Hydrocephalus

There are several types of possible pathologies. One of them is a disease like hydrocephalus (or, in other words, dropsy). In this disease, an increase in the volume of cerebrospinal fluid in the skull of the child is observed.

Photo of newborn children with this problem clearly show that the size of the head is greatly increased, the brain department has a larger size in comparison with the facial, and the frontal part strongly protrudes forward. The accumulation of this liquid leads to an increase in intracranial pressure.

Symptoms of hydrocephalus

Symptoms of dropsy, or hydrocephalus, are:

• An increase in the circumference of the head;
• The skull of the child after birth continues to increase;
• The child lags behind in development;
• He is irritable, sluggish, whiny, and at times, on the contrary, becomes aggressive;
• The baby can experience headaches;
• He often has nausea and vomiting;
• Doctors, as a rule, detect changes on the fundus;
• Possible epileptic seizures;
• urinary incontinence.

If the child is diagnosed with hydrocephalus, then it is necessary to show it to the neurosurgeon. Most often this disease is treated surgically, and the neurosurgeon after examination and a thorough examination gives evidence or contraindications for the forthcoming operation.

After successful surgical intervention, the ailment, as a rule, does not progress. The child can attend ordinary preschool institutions (gardens) and school with his peers. Sometimes the treatment is performed without surgery, with the use of drugs that reduce the production of cerebrospinal fluid. The shape of the skull gradually returns to normal.

Microcephaly

The second type of possible pathology of newborns is a disease such as microcephaly. With it, there is a decrease in the mass of the brain in a newborn, in contrast to healthy children, and the consequent reduction in the size of the circumference of the head.

There are many reasons that provoke the development of this disease. It can be various infectious diseases, transferred during pregnancy, intoxication of the fetus in the womb of the mother with alcohol, tobacco and drugs. Especially dangerous are such effects in the early stages of pregnancy, when all the organs and systems of the child are only being formed.

The negative effect is the use of certain antibiotics during pregnancy. Influence of radioactive radiation, toxic fetal poisoning, genetic abnormalities and birth injuries can also cause microcephaly in newborns. At the same time, the skull of the child will be much less, in comparison with children who do not have pathology.

Symptoms of microcephaly

Microcephaly of the newborn can be recognized even visually, without conducting additional examinations. This disease is accompanied by the following symptoms:

1. The head circumference in the newborn is 2-3 times different from the norm in the smaller direction. If in healthy children it is 32-38 cm, in newborns with microcephaly, this indicator is only 25-27 centimeters. In the photo of newborn children with microcephaly, it is evident that the shape of the skull is changed - the face of the child grows, and the head itself remains small.
2. The brain weight in healthy children is approximately 400 g, and in newborns with microcephaly, it fluctuates around 250 g.
3. Frequent companions of the disease are such deviations as "hare's lip", strabismus, "wolf mouth".
4. Patients with microcephaly are born with a closed fontanel, or its closure occurs in the first month of life.
5. The baby lags noticeably in emotional and speech development. At the same time, he not only can not reproduce words and sounds himself, but he also practically does not understand the speech delivered by others.

Microcephaly is now, unfortunately, an incurable disease. The treatment is mainly aimed at reducing the development of vices.

Macrocephaly

Another type of possible pathology is macrocephaly. In medicine, this is called an increase in the volume of the skull and the weight of the brain in the absence of dropsy. With this disease, the weight of the brain can reach 2850 grams. This pathology can be asymptomatic, and the appearance of the brain in this case practically does not differ from normal.

Macrocephaly is a congenital disease, but it can sometimes occur after birth. Unfortunately, the reasons for which it arises are not currently known.

Even if your newborn has a dolichocephalic shape of the head and there are no deviations and pathologies in the shape of the skull, it is necessary to take care of the infant correctly to prevent the appearance of postpartum pathologies. The fact is that the bones of the skull in newly born cats are relatively soft, not hardened, so when the infant lies for a long time in one position, deformation of the bones of the skull occurs, and the head eventually acquires an irregular shape. In order for the dolichocephalic shape of the head to change in the fetus, in the first 12 weeks of life, parents need to change the position of the newborn as often as possible, each time stacking it on the other side.