Baby Head Basics
This part of your head is where your brain lives.
What is the skull?
This is the name of the thing that happens when a baby’s head bones grow too quickly and don’t leave room for the brain to grow big.
What is craniosynostosis?
If a baby’s head shape is not normal, doctors might use this to take a picture inside the head.
What is an X-ray?
This doctor helps fix heads that don’t grow the right way.
Who is a surgeon?
This is the priority nursing assessment for an infant with craniosynostosis to monitor for signs of increased pressure in the skull.
What is assessing for increased intracranial pressure?
These are the parts of your head that can be soft when you are born and help your head grow.
What are soft spots (fontanelles)?
Babies with craniosynostosis might have heads that look different, sometimes it looks like this shape.
What is a pointy or bumpy head?
If a baby has trouble doing this, like sitting up or looking around, it could mean something is wrong with their head.
What is moving or turning their head?
This is something doctors can do to make sure the head grows properly again.
What is surgery?
After cranial surgery, the nurse should monitor for this complication, which can cause swelling and increased pressure in the brain.
What is post-operative cerebral edema?
This is the part of the body that grows faster and needs room inside your head to grow bigger.
What is the brain?
This happens when a baby’s head looks bumpy or shaped differently than usual.
What is a strange or bumpy head shape?
If a baby is not feeling well, and their head shape looks funny, this is when parents should do this.
When should you call the doctor?
Sometimes, babies with craniosynostosis need to wear this to help their heads grow better.
What is a helmet?
To prevent complications, nurses should position infants in this way after cranial surgery.
What is elevating the head of the bed to reduce swelling?
This is how you call a baby when they are smaller than a toddler, before they can walk.
What is an infant?
If a baby is not growing their head the right way, their parents might notice this happening more slowly than usual.
What is the head not growing as big as it should?
The most common type of craniosynostosis, affecting the sagittal suture, results in this head shape.
What is scaphocephaly (dolichocephaly)?
The main surgical procedure to correct craniosynostosis and allow for normal brain growth.
What is cranial vault remodeling or endoscopic suturectomy?
Parents of infants with craniosynostosis should receive education on this therapy, which may be required post-surgery to help shape the skull.
What is helmet therapy?
If a baby is fussy, doesn’t like to do this, or seems to have a hard time playing, the doctor might want to help.
What is looking around or playing?
This term describes the premature fusion of one or more cranial sutures in an infant.
What is craniosynostosis?
This imaging study is most commonly used to confirm the diagnosis of craniosynostosis.
What is a CT scan with 3D reconstruction?
This type of specialist helps fit babies with helmets to reshape their heads after surgery.
Who is an orthotist?
When providing care for a baby with craniosynostosis, nurses should closely monitor for this sign of impaired brain development.
What is delayed developmental milestones?