Many new parents will be warned by the elders that the baby's fontanelle cannot be touched casually, otherwise it will become dumb! Some also say that the later the fontanelle closes, the smarter the baby is.
Is this really the case?
The head of the human body is mainly composed of occipital, frontal, parietal and bone, connected by elastic fibrous tissue. After the baby is born, there are two soft depressions on the top of the head, which are bone defect areas formed by the connection of the skull, which is called the fontanelle in medicine.
There are two fontanelles, namely the front fontanelle and the rear fontanelle. The posterior fontanelle is a triangular gap formed by two parietal bones and occipital bones, and the baby fontanelle that is often mentioned by everyone generally refers to the anterior fontanelle, which is located in the front position of the baby's head and is shaped close to a diamond.
Usually, your baby's fontanelle is soft and flat, and it is more convex and fuller when lying flat than when standing or sitting. Because there are arteries on the surface of the brain, some babies can feel a slight pulsation in the fontanelle when touched.
In general, when the baby is born, the size of the anterior fontanelle is about 1 to 2 cm (fontanelle size refers to the distance between the midpoints of the two opposite edges of the diamond), reaching a maximum of 1 month of age, but usually not more than 2 cm.
As the baby ages, the anterior fontanelle will gradually become smaller, usually at 12 to 14 months of age the baby can be closed to 0.6cm, 21 to 24 months of age will be completely closed.
However, there is no obvious correlation between the size of the anterior fontanelle and the baby's height, weight, head circumference development, and IQ, and the difference in the size and closing age of the anterior fontanelle between different babies is still very large.
For example, some children have anterior fontanelle in the range of 0.6 to 3 .6cm, and 1% of babies have closed the front fontanelle by 3 months of age.
Therefore, parents do not have to worry too much about the size and closing time of the anterior fontanelle, and the size value of a single anterior fontanelle has no clinical significance, but it must be identified together with other growth and development manifestations such as the baby's height, weight, and head circumference.
If the baby's front fontanelle is closed early, but the head circumference and growth and development curve are normal, it means that the closure of the front fontanelle has no effect on the baby's brain development.
The baby's posterior fontanelle is generally close to closing at birth, and completely closed at the baby's age of 6 to 8 weeks, that is, about two months.
When do I need a medical examination?
1. The baby has obvious depression in the eye socket and front fontanelle, mental atrophy or irritability, obvious dryness of the lips, poor skin elasticity, significant reduction in urine output, wet and cold hands and feet and other symptoms;
2. The baby's front fontanelle in a calm state is more convex than before, and is accompanied by symptoms such as poor spirits, irritability, fever, jet vomiting, convulsions, etc.;
3. Before the baby is 3 months old, the anterior fontanelle has been closed, and the baby's head circumference is also small, or the head circumference lasts for 2 to 3 months without growth and change.
4. The baby is more than 2 years old, the front fontanelle has not been closed, and there are symptoms such as irritability, crying, sleep restlessness, sweating, edema, mental atrophy, collapsed nose bridge, backward growth and development, and disproportionate head and limbs;
If the baby's fontanelle closes earlier, but the head circumference grows normally, it will generally not affect the development of the brain, but parents should closely monitor the changes in the baby's head circumference.
However, if the fontanelle door closes prematurely and the baby's head circumference is small, symptoms such as brain dysplasia and microcephaly may occur.
However, under normal circumstances, it is not easy for parents to distinguish whether the baby's fontanelle has changed and whether it is really completely closed. Therefore, it is still necessary to go to the hospital regularly for examination and be judged by a professional doctor.