Paediatrician says babies’ ‘soft spots’ not cause for worry

A Paediatrician, Dr Jibike Ikuerowo says the `soft spots’ on the skull of infants does not make them fall sick, contrary to popular belief.
Ikuerowo of the Department of Paediatrics, Gbagada General Hospital, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos on Friday.
According to her, though the soft spots do not cause sickness but can indicate imminent sickness.
Babies’ `soft spots’, referred to as Anterior Fontanelles by medical professionals is a diamond-shaped membrane-filled space located between the two frontal and two parietal bones of the developing fetal skull.
The soft spots persist until approximately 18 months after birth.
She said: “Babies have soft spots located in the anterior and posterior axis of the skull.
“It is time healthcare providers educate and enlighten mothers about how their newborn’s skull should look like from birth.
“It is normal for that hole or space to be there and to breathe.
“The hole cannot cause a child to fall sick but it can indicate signs of illness about to happen.’’
She said that the reason for the two openings was to allow the skull to increase in size as the child’s brain grew.
Ikuerowo said that the absence of the soft spots would not allow the skull bone to increase in size.
The paediatrician explained that if there were no increase in the head of babies and no brain growth, the brain could be hindered from developing normally and its functions would be suppressed.
She said that mothers should only express worry about the soft spots, “if the area bulges, rises or sinks’’.
According to her, anything that can cause the brain to swell could actually raise the soft spots in babies.
Ikuerowo said that loss of blood in premature babies could also cause the soft spots to rise, saying that that this could happen when babies breathe into the brain.
She explained that diarrhea could also cause depressed or sunken soft spots in babies, if not well managed, because it often resulted in dehydration.
She said: “For instance, if babies are about to have meningitis or perinatal aphasia, that area might bulge, rise or sink.
“Aphasia is a condition caused by damage to areas of the brain that affects a child’s ability to speak or understand words.
“So, when it is flat and the baby is well, there should be no cause for worry.’’
The paediatrician said babies needed the brain for senses, vision, cognition, intelligence as well as good academic performance.
Ikuerowo advised mothers to stop giving their babies herbal concoction to stop the space from breathing, saying the breathing would only stop when the infant reached two years.