When a baby is born, there is a special area on the top of the head that is soft to the touch and sometimes sinks down and even pulsates, we call this area fontanelle. The fontanelle is so delicate, how can mothers properly care for it? What is fontanelle? The skull of a newborn is a little different from that of an adult, although it is made up of the frontal bone, parietal bone and occipital bone. However, the newborn’s skull is not fully developed, so there are two boneless gaps between the bones, and these two gaps are the fontanelles. What is the role of fontanelle? 1.Help the baby to be born smoothly When the baby is born, the skull that has not yet closed is squeezed and the edges overlap, so that the size of the fetal head is reduced, helping the baby to pass through the mother’s narrow birth canal smoothly. 2, to the head development space reserved for the baby’s brain development is particularly fast, the volume of rapid growth, to 1 year old brain weight has been more than twice the birth. However, the brain is growing in the cranial cavity, and if the volume of the cranial cavity is fixed, then brain development is bound to be limited. At this time, the existence of fontanel leaves space for brain development. 3, a window to see the baby’s health The early and late closure of fontanelle can reflect the development of the skull. After the baby is born, the mother can also understand the health condition of the baby through the changes of the fontanelle. The fontanelle is flat in its normal state. In addition to crying, if the baby’s fontanelle continues to bulge, this may mean increased pressure on the head. Especially when accompanied by symptoms such as fever or lethargy, your baby may have an infection or brain swelling. In this case, it is important to have a doctor examine the baby immediately to determine this. If you notice a significant sunken fontanelle, it is usually a sign of dehydration (other signs of dehydration: sunken eye sockets, less urine than usual), so hydrate your baby and inform your doctor. When does the fontanelle close? The fontanelle consists of the fontanelle and the posterior fontanelle. The fontanelle is a diamond-shaped area consisting of the parietal bone and the frontal bone, with an average oblique diameter of 1.5-2 cm at birth, but it varies greatly from individual to individual and can range from 0.6-3.6 cm. The fontanelle increases in size with the increase in head circumference during the first few months of life, but gradually shrinks after 6 months of age. Premature babies may be born later. The posterior fontanelle is a triangular shaped gap between the parietal and occipital bones, and usually closes at birth or within 2-3 months after birth. How to take care of the fontanelle before it closes? 1, baby fontanelle to clean fontanelle looks soft and fragile, feeling good, many new parents may not even dare to touch, let alone wash the little baby’s head. In fact, mothers and fathers do not have to be too nervous, the normal cleaning care of the baby’s head is perfectly fine. Because there is a very thick dura below the fontanelle can protect the brain. Long-term non-washing is easy to let the baby’s scalp breed bacteria. When you wash your baby’s hair, just be gentle. 2, the method of cleaning fontanelle from the newborn period that began to wash often, when cleaning the action should be gentle, agile, with fingertips massage cleaning, do not use your hands to scratch washing, utensils to hygiene, water temperature at 37 ~ 38 ℃. If there is dirt at fontanelle is not easy to wash off, you can first moisten with baby oil and soak for 2~3 hours, and then wipe off with sterile cotton balls according to the direction of hair growth after these dirt become soft, and then wash off with water. 3, pay attention to avoid hard objects hurt fontanelle violent impact and hard objects bump or to avoid, parents should pay attention to furniture sharp corners and other safety hazards, do the necessary protective measures. If the fontanelle is accidentally bumped, parents should carefully observe the baby’s reaction and go to the hospital immediately for examination once there is an abnormal performance. Some parents believe that the baby’s fontanelle cannot blow before it closes, so they give the baby a thick hat to wear no matter indoors or outdoors, which is unnecessary. The fontanelle is not afraid of blowing wind, as long as the temperature is suitable, whether indoors or outdoors, the baby can not wear a hat. 4.Do not shake your baby violently Shaking your baby violently may cause the fontanelle to swell. There are inevitably times when you are irritable or in a bad mood with a baby, but you must not shake him vigorously in order to make him stop crying. Vigorous shaking can easily cause head injury or even death to the baby! If you find someone shaking your baby, resulting in a swollen fontanel, seek immediate medical attention. Tips about baby’s fontanel 1. Late closure of fontanel is not calcium deficiency There is no inevitable relationship between delayed closure of fontanel and calcium deficiency. If your baby has been taking vitamin D supplements since birth, the dose is sufficient, and you have been insisting on sunbathing and adding a reasonable amount of supplementary food, your baby will not be deficient in calcium in general. If the baby’s fontanelle closure is delayed due to calcium deficiency, other parts of the skeleton will also be affected, so you cannot conclude that your baby is calcium deficient just by looking at the delayed fontanelle closure time. Many mothers stop taking vitamin D when they find that the fontanelle is small or almost closed. Mothers think that if they continue to supplement, it will speed up the closure of fontanelle and lead to slow growth of head circumference, but this is actually wrong. There is no obvious correlation between the time of fontanel closure and the size of the head circumference, even if the baby’s fontanel is closed, the embedding between the bones of the skull is still relatively loose, and as the brain grows, the skull seams can still relax and expand, and the head circumference can increase normally. Therefore, even if the baby’s fontanelle is found to be small or even has a tendency to close early, there is no need to stop taking vitamin D. Regardless of whether the fontanelle is large or small, and whether there is a tendency to close early, the baby should start taking vitamin D every day from 15 days after birth to promote the baby’s growth and development. 3.The early closure of fontanelle does not necessarily affect intelligence. The early closure of the fontanelle does not necessarily mean that the baby has problems with brain development. Even if the fontanelle closes, most babies’ heads are still developing and their head circumference should still increase, which will have no effect on intelligence. Mothers can monitor their baby’s head circumference development and have their baby’s mental development checked, and if they are normal, regular monitoring is sufficient.