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taking a good look at your child
 

Certain newborn variations are seen frequently. These may not be the same ones you remember from seeing newborn pictures in magazines and on television. However, these features are both common and normal and disappear as your child grows.

       




Vernix
You may notice that when your child was born, a whitish, creamy substance was covering your child’s skin. This is vernix which forms a protective barrier while the baby is in the womb. Vernix is usually washed off during the first bath in the nursery but you may find some in the various skin folds.

Molding
At birth, your child’s head may have a misshapen appearance or a “cone-head” look as a result of being squeezed through the birth canal. This molding is much improved after the first 24 hours of life and continues to improve through the first weeks of life.

Fontanel
This is the baby’s soft spot where the bony plates of the skull meet. You need not be afraid to touch or wash the scalp over the soft spot. As your baby grows, the soft spot will fill in and become bone.

Cephalohematoma
Birth can be a rough journey for your child, too. You may notice a soft, swollen bump on the scalp after delivery. You may even see a bruise. Pressure on the scalp from the birth ca-nal causes some bleeding between scalp and bone. This usually resolves in the first few weeks of life.

Subconjunctival Hemorrhage
You may note a red, crescent shaped mark on the white part of your baby’s eye next to the round, colored part (iris). This is a small bleed on the eye from pressure during delivery. It is like a bruise and will disappear with time.

Swollen Eyelids
Swelling of each eyelid at birth may limit your baby’s ability to open the eyes. This will soon disappear.

Milia
You might notice some pinpoint white dots on your baby’s face, especially on the nose. These are blocked oil glands and will improve in the first few weeks of life.

Breast Hyperrophy
Some of new mother’s hormones cross the placenta and end up in the baby’s bloodstream. This may cause enlarged breast tissue and the breasts will appear swollen in both girls and boys.

 

 
Vaginal Discharge
You may note some whitish or bloody discharge from the vagina in girls. This is due to maternal hormones and will end in several weeks.

Hydroceles
Your baby’s testes may seen swollen at birth. This is due to an accumulation of fluid within the scrotal sac. The fluid will usually disappear in the first months of life.

Erythema Toxicum
This is a newborn rash consisting of irregular, red, raised blotches with a small white bump in the middle. It usually starts in the first days of life and resolves by the end of the first week.

Nevus Simplex
These are “angel kisses” or “stork bites,” red blotchy birthmarks that you can find at the nape of the neck, in the middle of the forehead and on the upper eyelids. They fade in the first years of life.


Blue-Gray Macules
These marks, “Mongolian spots” are large bluish areas usually found on the back where the spine meets the buttocks. They may look like bruises but they’re not.

Jaundice
During the first few days of life, some babies will develop a yellow coloring of the skin. This is called jaundice. Over 50 percent of all newborns develop some degree of jaundice. In its most common form, jaundice occurs when there is a build up of a naturally occurring waste product of old red blood cells which are falling apart.

Jaundice usually doesn’t appear in the first 24 hours of life. Most babies reach their peak of yellowness by the fourth or fifth day of life. If we think your baby is too yellow, we may order a blood test. Occassionally, we will place a baby under “phototherapy” or light therapy to reduce the level of jaundice. If your baby is yellow from head to toe or the whites of the eyes are significantly yellow, call your provider.

   
 
   
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