The soft spot on the babies head seems so vulnerable , and sometimes it pulsates which is very scary ?
A. The soft spot which actually are two openings in the skull , where the bones haven’t yet fused. During child birth, the fontanelle allows the foetal head to mould to fit through the birth canal, something a solidly fused skull couldn’t do. Later they allow for the tremendous brain growth of the first year. The larger of the two openings is the auterior fontanel , is on top of the newborns head. It is diamond shaped and may be too wide. It starts to close when infant is 6 months old and is usually closed by eighteen months. When the baby cries , the fontanelle which normally appears flat seems to bulge. A depressed auterior fontanelle is a sign of dehydration. A fontanelle which bulges persistently may indicate increased pressure inside the head and requires urgent medical attention. The posterior fontanelle, a smaller triangular opening towards the back of the head is less noticeable and it is generally closed by 3rd month.
