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Warning Signs and Implications of a Bulging Fontanelle

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If Your Baby has a Bulging Fontanelle after Experiencing a Traumatic Birth, It May be a Sign of a Serious Health Condition that can Damage them for Life

Newborn babies have soft spots on their heads where the skull’s formation is incomplete. The fontanels are spots where skull bones have yet to close to form a completed skull, the sutures being where the skull bones connect. The spots allow the baby’s head to mold to the birth canal during labor and delivery. The fontanelles at the back of the head close a couple of months after birth, while the fontanelles on the top of the head take longer, up to 19 months.

Beware of a Bulging Fontanel: Warning Sign of a Potential Medical Emergency

The fontanelles create a slight depression, which is normal. However, when the fontanelle bulges, it could indicate a grave health problem that necessitates immediate medical attention. The fontanelle may bulge when a baby cries and return to normal afterward. However, when the bulge does not disappear, and the baby seems sick, the condition may be a medical emergency.

Distinguishing Between Normal, Sunken, and Bulging Fontanelles

The normal slightly concave fontanelle may bulge when a newborn cries, lies down, or vomits and then return to normal when the baby calms and rises head up. In general, normal fontanels create a slight depression. When they bulge and the bulge does not return to normal, the infant should see a doctor quickly.

As for a sunken fontanelle, this occurs when there is a soft spot presenting with a concave appearance, somewhat lower than the rest of the skull. The standard curve of a fontanelle is slightly downward or concave. However, when the fontanelle appears more sunken than usual, the infant probably lacks sufficient bodily fluid due to dehydration or malnutrition. Dehydration is the typical precursor for a sunken fontanel, often caused by gastrointestinal issues such as vomiting, diarrhea, or not taking in enough fluids. Even being outside in the heat for too long can cause a baby to become dehydrated.

Although no deviation from a normal soft spot shape is desirable, when it comes to bulging or sunken fontanels, the former is more grave than the latter. Both should be seen and addressed by a medical professional.

Top Conditions that can Lead to Bulging Fontanelles

Bulging fontanelles have various causes. The bulge may result from brain fluid pooling in the brain. It may also result from the brain swelling and creating pressure against the skull. An infection may also be the source creating a larger, more serious problem that could spell long-term consequences for your child’s health. The following are the most frequent medical conditions that lead to bulging fontanels in infants:

  • One is encephalitis, which is the result of an infection. The brain swells due to a viral or bacterial infection.
  • Hydrocephalus can also cause bulges when brain fluid buildup occurs from birth injury or infection.
  • Another severe infection is meningitis, which inflames the brain and spinal cord tissue. Meningitis is another reason for an abnormal bulge in the fontanelle.
  • When oxygen deprivation occurs at birth or postpartum, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) typically creates brain swelling. HIE causes fontanelle bulging and possible brain damage.
  • Brain bleeding and intracranial hemorrhaging are sources of bulging fontanelles, as are brain tumors or abscesses.
  • When a baby experiences head trauma, that too can cause brain fluid buildup.
  • Other causes may be diseases such as Lyme disease or Addison’s disease. The former is a bacterial infection passed to humans through ticks, and the latter is an adrenal gland defect that causes various symptoms from the body’s malfunctioning, such as kidney failure, nausea, and vomiting.
  • Other conditions include congestive heart failure, which creates excess fluid in the body when the heart fails to pump blood sufficient to circulate the blood, and leukemia, which is a white blood cell cancer.
  • Hyperthyroidism is an overactive thyroid that produces excessive hormones
  • Anemia is an iron deficiency marked by too little oxygen in the blood
  • Electrolyte dysfunction, specifically sodium and potassium imbalances; and
  • Maple syrup urine disease, which is a condition characterized by insufficient protein digestion.

Fortunately, the fontanelle may sink or rise, but it does not affect the baby’s head shape. However, certain conditions that cause bulges, for example, can change a baby’s head. Hydrocephalus enlarges the head the longer the condition persists. And craniosynostosis (early skull bone fusion) may cause a baby’s head to be misshapen.

Protocol for Diagnosing Bulging Fontanelles and Their Root Causes

The protocol for diagnosing bulging fontanelle causes includes a physical exam, medical history, and testing. A pediatrician must understand where the bulge appears on the baby’s head and for how long. They also want to know about changes, conditions, or actions that affect the bulging fontanelle and whether the baby has symptoms indicating illness, such as fever. Eventually, however, the physician will order scans, like CTs, spinal taps, and MRIs, to complete the diagnosis.

Doctors Must Treat the Cause in Order to Resolve a Bulging Fontanelle

Since a bulging fontanelle is a symptom of a more significant problem, a pediatrician treats the condition and its symptoms, which can be pretty serious. As such, a bulging fontanelle is often cause for immediate medical treatment. Thus, the pediatrician’s treatment depends on the underlying disorder. Emergency surgery may be necessary to relieve skull pressure from brain swelling or antibiotics for infections. Once the condition causing the bulge resolves, the fontanelle can return to normal.

An Infant’s Bulging Fontanelle May Indicate a Birth Injury

Birth injuries often result from inadequate pregnancy, delivery, and postnatal care. Those conditions that cause a bulging fontanelle, such as HIE, head trauma, birth asphyxia, or meningitis, are birth injuries, sometimes resulting from substandard care. When a doctor or other medical professional delivers negligent care, they may be liable for birth injuries that follow. As such, an undiagnosed condition underlying a bulging fontanelle could lead to fatal results.

When your child has been injured by a healthcare practitioner’s negligence, you may be entitled to compensation through a birth injury lawsuit. You will need compensation to help them thrive with health challenges and to have the totality of their needs met when dealing with the permanent consequences of a physician’s mistakes. Substandard medical care can haunt a child in the form of severe conditions, injuries, and impairments, often for the rest of their lives. A birth injury lawsuit successfully navigated by an experienced attorney can fill in the gaps for their brightest future.

Discuss Your Concerns about a Bulging Fontanelle-Related Birth Injury with our Informed NJ Attorneys

Plainly put, winning a birth injury lawsuit without professional legal help is too difficult. When your baby suffers a birth injury, the last thing you want to think about is how to get familiar with the legal system enough to file a claim and bring it over the finish line for just compensation. Without knowing the laws and court rules, you might file your lawsuit late and lose your ability to demand compensation for your child’s birth injury, an unfortunate fate that befalls too many families in New Jersey and elsewhere in the United States.

Before a lawsuit, our talented team of birth injury attorneys investigates the details of the case, such as the medical professional’s liability, the financial, physical, and emotional losses due to the birth injury, the specific breach in duty of care that led to your child’s injuries, and the applicable medical malpractice insurance information. We also call upon the top medical experts in the field to affirm the validity of your claim, one of the core requirements for a successful suit to withstand legal scrutiny in New Jersey courts.

Most importantly, our birth injury lawyers will take care of all the legal details that a layperson would need to learn in filing and navigating the process of your child’s claim. Call our team at 866-708-8617 for a free review of your baby’s bulging fontanelle-related case. You can also reach us on our website anytime for the answers you need.

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  • How do I know if my child has a pediatric malpractice case?

    If your child suffered an injury, complications, or a medical condition resulting from medical negligence, you may have grounds for a pediatric malpractice or birth injury lawsuit. Learn more.

  • How can I get help to pay for my child's medical bills?

    If a doctor, nurse, hospital, or other healthcare provider failed to provide adequate care for your child and they suffered harm, you can pursue compensation for medical expenses, pain and suffering, and more. Find out about damages.

  • How long do I have to file a pediatric malpractice claim?

    The statute of limitations to file a medical malpractice lawsuit varies from state to state. The time limits may begin when your child's condition is identified, not necessarily when it occurred. Contact us for information that applies to your child's specific case.

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