Sick Of Hospital's...

[Antoinette]

so as you know Mikaela was born on Wednesday the 17th. they kept me in hospital until Sunday the 21st because she had a little lump on her head, they then told me that the lump was just from the suction cap and nothing to worry about they said the midwife would make frequent visits and i live 10 minutes away from the hospital so just to monitor it.

by about Tuesday i think the lump had started to grow so i took her back to the hospital, they again told me it was just some blood pooling there from the suction cap, totally normal and nothing to worry about. so i have been back and forth too and from this hospital all week.

anyway last night i noticed some more swelling on her head but this time it was on the opposite side to where the suction cap was so Tim and i took her back to the hospital. we didn't get out of there till midnight but the doctors couldn't find anything wrong they told me to monitor her throughout the night and to bring her back today. so here i am getting ready to take her back to hospital again.

i know something isn't right, this is my third child and neither of the other two had swelling like this and they both had the suction cap! i feel like i am getting no help from the doctors.....

 

[mom2many]

I'm sorry Antoinette, hopefully it really is nothing. I understand the feeling though, Kailyn was born with low body temperature, and I had to fight to leave and then kept having to take her back in.

 

[Jeremy+3]

Maybe its a hematoma, they're very common in new born babies especially those who required assistance during birth or who experienced a long active labour stage and premature babies.

They tend to peak at around two weeks old and babies often continue to get them until all of the blood vessels damaged during birth are repaired/their skull plates have returned to a 'normal' shape. Some are small, some are quite big (like half a golf ball stuck on their heads) they tend to start very soft as they're just made of liquid, then they can become firmer as they essentially form a scab between the skin and the skull until the body eventually breaks them down. As the babies skin is essentially detached from the skull they can move fairly freely, so if a hemotoma develops while they are laying down it will tend to develop where the head is resting.

Heres one

 

[Jeremy+3]

Ah I was just looking to see if I had any pictures of Jakes on the computer but I don't, he had loads of hematomas until he was about 10 weeks old, at one point it looked like he had marbles under his scalp. They were all pretty much gone by the time he was about two.

 

[Antoinette]

thank you jeremy, that sounds almost exactly what she has. i might suggest it to the doctors when i take her <U>back</U> in tomorrow.

everyday they say monitor her over night and bring her back in the morning but if its nothing i don't know why we have to keep going back. if it changes i would notice but they aren't giving me any answers

 

[Jeremy+3]

thank you jeremy, that sounds almost exactly what she has. i might suggest it to the doctors when i take her <U>back</U> in tomorrow.

everyday they say monitor her over night and bring her back in the morning but if its nothing i don't know why we have to keep going back. if it changes i would notice but they aren't giving me any answers

Its because sometimes they can form in a bad place, so if one forms on one of her 'plates' when it hardens it could slightly alter the shape of her skull, or if she has one on a pressure point it could make a slight concave dint in her skull. Neither are a problem, most will fix themselves by about five years old, but occasionally they need a helmet to alter their skull shape. Jake had to have his monitored everyday for a certain period of time but I'm not sure how long it was, after that it went to every few weeks then once a year until they were all gone.

 

[akmom]

Don't they realize that caring for a newborn is hard enough, without scheduling life around endless hospital visits? I can't imagine!

 

[ikon99]

thank you jeremy, that sounds almost exactly what she has. i might suggest it to the doctors when i take her <U>back</U> in tomorrow.

everyday they say monitor her over night and bring her back in the morning but if its nothing i don't know why we have to keep going back. if it changes i would notice but they aren't giving me any answers

Sounds like the little one has a bit of a traumatic birth, (suction cup). The Dr's are not giving answers b/c they may not know. What they should be doing is telling what its not. Next time ask them what is in their differential.

A differential diagnosis are the things on their minds that this could be. Like hydrocephalis, scalp hematoma, or just a mal shaped head from being pulled through the birth canal

They want you to monitor for changes in the shape of the child's head and the childs behavior. The follow up is needed to ensure continuity of care and to re assess for dangerous changes.

Please, at your next visit, ask them what its not. This should give you peace of mind. Some of the aformentioned things are dangerous some are not.