Northern Pediatrics

Today, we're talking about a less common, though important cause of head shape deformities: 𝚌𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚘𝚜𝚢𝚗𝚘𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚜𝚒𝚜. This is where the skull bones fuse before they are supposed to (that is, before the 🧠 has finished growing). More than just a cosmetic defect, craniosynostosis can have significant medical (even life-threatening) consequences.

👶🏻 When your baby is first born, their skull is not yet a solid slab of bone. Rather, the skull is made up of multiple segments, much like a loosely held together puzzle 🧩. This allows for the skull to grow as your child's brain gets bigger. As the brain reaches adult size, the "puzzle pieces" of the skull fuse and form a tight cohesive skull 💀.

🔆 Because the early skull has flexible and moldable parts, a baby's skull can become deformed due to various factors.

🔆 The most common reason your baby has a "funny shaped head" is due to reversible things such as 🔘 molding during birth 🔘 too much time in the car seat 🔘 preferentially sleeping on one side of the head 🔘 or muscle disorders like torticollis (more on that in our next posts).

🔆 For a parent and pediatrician, the biggest clue 🧐 to a potential craniosynostosis is an abnormality in head growth (whether size or shape). This is checked AT LEAST at every well check up.

🔆 If you're ever unsure, just mention it to your pediatric provider.

Ref: uptodate,