Hematoma in newborns
The birth of a child is not as easy as it might seem at first glance. Sometimes during natural childbirth, the baby experiences various injuries, despite the fact that nature has provided for minimizing the risk of damage. Thus, often during the birth process, a hematoma occurs in newborns. Doctors consider such trauma to be normal, so they try to reassure mothers who are very worried about what happened.
Hematoma on the head of a newborn
In order for the baby to go through the birth canal, he needs to squeeze between the muscle ring and the bones of the mother's pelvis. During the movement, the baby makes corkscrew, pendulum and other movements. Meanwhile, all children have strong, but at the same time elastic bones of the skull, which are interconnected by natural shock absorbers - seams and fontanelles.
The fontanelle is the space that remains free in the middle of the skull and is necessary for the birth of a child. A newborn has two fontanelles: large and small. The large one is located on the crown of the child's head and is a soft place covered with a thin membrane. The small fontanelle is located in the occipital part of the head. Thanks to this structure, bones are able to diverge and converge.
In the process of birth, the head slightly changes its shape: the bones of the skull overlap each other, which allows it to squeeze through the narrowest places. Subsequently, the bones of the skull quickly straighten out with the first cry of the baby, as well as during its application to the chest. If the child is healthy, it usually passes through the birth canal without any consequences. But if the baby had intrauterine complications or the mother had health problems, then the baby does not always manage to be born without damage. Sometimes it is impossible to avoid the formation of a hematoma on the head of a newborn.
Quite often, birth trauma to the skull occurs against the background of intrauterine fetal hypoxia. In conditions of a lack of oxygen in a baby, metabolism can change in all tissues, which can reduce the elasticity of his vessels. At the time of birth, "weak" blood vessels and capillaries cannot withstand the difference between the pressure inside the uterus and in the external environment, which can lead to hemorrhage into the brain tissue. The result is the formation of a hematoma in the newborn.
Often, such a birth injury occurs in premature babies, whose body is not yet fully mature, including the vessels. Also, sometimes born babies are born with injuries, as their bones begin to harden, and the fontanelle closes. Therefore, their skull is less elastic and mobile. Bruising and tissue swelling can form not only on the child's head, but also on the body or face.
As a rule, a hematoma in newborns goes away quickly enough, without any special consequences for the baby's health. On the second or third day, the skin at the site of the injury evens out, the bruises turn pale, and then disappear after a couple of weeks. Although, there are still exceptions. In some children, the birth tumor can grow and bleed, which is quite dangerous with various complications. In this case, it is already impossible to do without treatment. The child is injected with hemostatic agents and even antibiotics in case of hematoma suppuration.
Cephalohematoma in newborns
Depending on where exactly the hemorrhage occurred, there are several types of hematomas. However, cephalohematoma is most common. It is a hemorrhage under the periosteum of the skull bones. When you press on this place under the fingers, waves seem to diverge. At the same time, the surface of the skin above the hematoma in the newborn is not changed, the color remains the same, although pinpoint traces of blood may be observed.
The mechanism of injury lies in the fact that the skin is displaced along with the periosteum and during the movement of the child's head along the birth canal, a rupture of blood vessels occurs due to compression of the skull bones. Causes of cephalohematoma in newborns:
- The overload that the baby is exposed to at birth;
- Inconsistency between the size of the fetus and the birth canal;
- Prematurity;
- Complications after vacuum extraction.
Immediately after birth, it is rather difficult to detect a cephalohematoma, since it is closed by a generic tumor and becomes noticeable only after its resorption. As a result of vascular damage, a certain amount of blood accumulates. Moreover, the blood in the hematoma is not collected all at once on the first day, but gradually. The fact is that newborn babies usually have a temporary deficiency of blood coagulation factors. Therefore, the tumor that appeared immediately after birth continues to increase in size over the next 2-3 days, and the volume of cephalohematoma in newborns ranges from 10 to 150 ml of blood.
This type of hematoma can be located in various parts of the head, and the blood inside remains liquid for a long time due to its low coagulability. If there is little blood in the cephalohematoma, after about a week it will begin to dissolve on its own, without any intervention or treatment. With significant hemorrhage, this process can take several months. Therefore, puncture is used to treat hematoma in newborns.
To do this, use two special needles for suctioning blood. One needle is used to remove blood, and the other is to prevent negative pressure from developing in the vacated cavity and provoking a new hemorrhage. Usually, this manipulation scares the mothers of the baby, but there is nothing complicated in it. It is necessary to be afraid of the consequences of a hematoma in a newborn, if it is not cured in time, it can fester or ossify and leave an ugly bump on the child's head.
Complications of cephalohematoma:
- Anemia - develops as a result of significant blood loss;
- Jaundice - formed when the hemorrhage resolves;
- Suppuration of the tumor;
- Ossification of hematoma.
An urgent need to consult a doctor if there is a hematoma in a newborn, if:
- The baby has difficulty feeding;
- Toddler is restless or overly excited
- The baby has head asymmetry, problems with muscle tone;
- The child has a strong tilt of the head back.
In such cases, it is important for the newborn to provide medical assistance on time. The consequences of birth trauma can be different, including delayed speech and mental development. Therefore, you cannot postpone a visit to the doctor if there are any disturbing symptoms in the baby.
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