The blood is sitting on top of the skull, not under the skull. Over the course of a few weeks, the bulge may feel harder as the blood calcifies. After a few weeks, the blood will start to disappear, and the bulge will shrink. Sometimes, however, the center of the bulge disappears before the edges. That may give the spot a crater-like feel. Beyond this bulge, infants with CH may not display any obvious symptoms or behavioral differences. Instead, the symptoms may be more internal.
These could include:. To diagnose CH, your doctor will perform a full-body physical on your infant. Often, the appearance of the bulge alone is enough to make a diagnosis. Both you and your doctor, however, should monitor for changing symptoms or signs of other problems with your baby. CH is a minor injury that occurs most often during labor and delivery. Birth-assisting devices, such as forceps or a vacuum, also make these injuries more likely. Women who have a longer labor or a complicated delivery are more likely to have a baby with CH.
A lengthy labor also increases the potential need for birth-assisting devices. These devices make the injury more likely. Read more: Birth canal issues ». Risk factors for cephalohematoma include:. Cephalohematoma itself is a completely harmless condition that goes away without any treatment. In some cases, however, cephalohematoma can lead to other health complications.
The most common complication related to cephalohematoma is jaundice. When the blood in a cephalohematoma mass eventually breaks down and gets reabsorbed it causes bilirubin levels in the blood to increase.
Jaundice is the result of excess bilirubin in the blood so babies with cephalohematoma are at increased risk of developing jaundice. A rare but potentially dangerous complication that can result from cephalohematoma is infection. A cephalohematoma site presents a small risk of primary or secondary infection. Lesions on the skin can make the cephalohematoma site more vulnerable to bacterial infections. The vast majority of cephalohematoma infections are caused by the E.
Cephalohematoma infection typically develops in the first or second week after birth and symptoms include fever and inflammation near the site of the bulge. If you suspect your baby's cephalohematoma may be infected you should take them to the doctor immediately. Cephalohematoma infections can be very serious and require prompt medical intervention.
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Infant Brain Damage. Cephalohematoma and Birth Injuries. Cephalohematoma and Birth Injuries Cephalohematoma in newborns is a relatively common condition in which a small pool of blood develops into a mass just underneath the baby's scalp outside the skull. In rare cases where a cephalohematoma does not go away after weeks, there is a risk of calcification.
Calcification of a cephalohematoma occurs when bone deposits begin to form around and harden around the blood pool. Calcification of a cephalohematoma is very uncommon but when it does occur it is a very serious complication. If the cephalohematoma continues to calcify it can cause serious deformities to the skull. When a cephalohematoma does not go away and begins to calcify prompt surgical intervention is the only option.
A clinical case report of a large calcified cephalohematoma requiring surgical treatment can be found at Clin Res Trials 3: doi: The baby described in this report was delivered with vacuum extraction and a cephalohematoma was identified 24 hours after birth.
The cephalohematoma did not dissolve on its own and soon began to harden. A CT scan confirmed calcification and surgery using a cap radial craniectomy was used. Infection is probably the most dangerous possible complication from a cephalohematoma. This occurs when the pooled blood and fluid from the cephalohematoma become infected. Although this is fairly uncommon, when cephalohematoma infection occurs it can very quickly lead to a serious systemic infection such as cellulitis or sepsis.
Infection at the cephalohematoma site has also been known to cause meningitis. These types of neonatal infection have a very high mortality rate so prompt diagnosis and treatment is critical. Babies born with cephalohematomas have an increased risk of developing anemia. This is because the pooling of blood from the cephalohematoma basically drains blood out of the baby's circulatory system.
This loss of blood can rapidly result in anemic conditions in a newborn. Larger cephalohematomas involve more blood loss and therefore a higher risk of anemia. This cephalohematoma triggers anemia it can usually be treated effectively with blood transfusions or other treatment methods.
A detailed clinical description and treatment analysis of 2 cases in which cephalohematomas caused anemia in newborns was published Ann Med Health Sci Res. In both of the cases in this report the newborns had what were described as "massive" cephalohematomas. The large size of the cephalohematomas caused significant blood loss in the newborns leading to severe anemia at 2 days old. Both babies were effectively treated with blood transfusion, phototherapy, and antibiotics.
Hyperbilirubinemia is a fairly common complication associated with cephalohematomas. Hyperbilirubinemia is defined as an excess level of bilirubin in the blood. Bilirubin is chemical waste product that is leftover when the body recycles blood cells. Normally bilirubin is disposed of through liver filtration and urination but babies have a hard time catching up with bilirubin disposal when first born.
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