One type of injury that a child can get in the process of giving birth is a cephalohematoma. It manifests itself in the form of a hemorrhage between the periosteum and the outer surface of the infant's skull, most often, blood accumulates on the parietal bone, less often on the occipital, temporal and frontal. It should be noted that the cephalohematoma is often not diagnosed in the first days of a child's life, since it is covered with a generic tumor. On the head of a baby, it can show up a few days after birth, when the tumor disappears, and the accumulated hemorrhage under the periosteum will increase. At the same time, the surface of the skin above the hematoma does not change. Kefalogematoma in newborns differs from the generic tumor in that it does not go beyond the boundaries of the affected bone.
Kefalogematoma in a newborn - reasons
To provoke the formation of cephalohematomas can be the infant's mechanical trauma, which arise as a result of mismatch in the size of the child and the birth canal. There are several influencing factors:
- too large a fetal size;
- wrong position - pelvic, parietal or facial presentation of the child;
- malformations of the fetus;
- a premature pregnancy;
- the elderly woman's age;
- too fast births in primiparas;
- narrow or flat pelvis, as well as suffered injuries with damage to the pelvic bones.
It is also possible to distinguish another group of causes, as a result of which a hypoxic birth trauma may occur in a child, and, as a result, the formation of a cephalohematoma:
- hanging the umbilical cord around the neck, which leads to difficulty breathing;
- sunken tongue, which in this case can block the way to the trachea;
- congestion of mucus in the oral cavity of the child.
Kefalogematoma in newborns - the consequences
- With a significant loss of blood, there is a risk of a decrease in the newborn's hemoglobin level, and as a result, anemia may occur.
- If the size of the cephalohematoma is large, tissue can seep in nearby, while decaying into hemoglobin particles, which then enter the bloodstream. As a consequence, the child may have jaundice.
- In those cases when the process of blood resorption becomes more prolonged, and also undergoes complications, there is a risk of asymmetry or deformation of the skull.
- With the unchanged state for a long time of the cephalohematoma in the newborn, the formation of the inflammatory process, and, consequently, suppuration, is possible.
Kefalogematoma in newborns - treatment
As a rule, with small sizes of cephalohematoma or if it does not bring discomfort to the child and any complications, treatment is not required - the tumor resolves itself in 1-2 months. In some cases, it is possible to prescribe vitamin K, which helps improve blood clotting, and calcium gluconate - to strengthen the vascular wall.
If the size of the tumor is large enough, the surgeon opens it with a special needle in order to remove the contents. Further, the child is applied a pressure bandage. In this case, the baby should be under strict control of a pediatrician and a pediatric surgeon.
In cases where a newborn has an increase in temperature and a change in the structure of the skin in certain areas of the head, there is a possibility that the cephalohematoma begins to fester. First and foremost, the doctor will need to remove all pus and remains of bloody mass, with the help of surgical intervention, and then perform disinfection of the wound and apply a bandage. Usually, after this operation, the child is prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs.
The main thing is that the cephalohematoma is a disease that, with timely measures, is easily treatable. And for its prevention, women need to think about their health not during pregnancy, but long before that.