Fontanelles or “Soft Spots”

Oh, how we love the growth and development of a child! Didn’t you just get so excited at the thought of memorizing all those developmental milestones?! (said no one ever, hah). 
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Seriously though, today we are talking about an important aspect of G&D. 𝐅𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐬!🩺
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What is the purpose of these “soft spots” on an infant’s head? Well, fontanelles are the point of the baby’s head where cranial sutures meet. 
Every skull has cranial sutures, which are fibrous joints that bound the cranial bones together. At birth however, fontanelles are gaps in these cranial sutures that are not yet fused. This is normal and an expected finding. These “gaps” or “soft spots” allow for rapid stretching as the brain grows during infancy. 

🧠 Posterior fontanelle closes within 1-3 months of age. 
🧠 Anterior fontanelle closes within 12-18 months. 

💡But did you know the fontanelles can also tell us if a baby is having other complications? 

𝘽𝙪𝙡𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙨 can be a sign of increased ICP
𝙎𝙪𝙣𝙠𝙚𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙨 can be a sign of dehydration

What other causes can cause a bulging or sunken/depressed fontanelle? Comment below! ⬇️

🔍 Hint: One of them is a bacterial or viral infection in the brain.