At the time of birth, the baby's head is the widest part of the body (proportionally), with a diameter equal to that of the thorax. As the child grows, as is logical, the head does so at a slower pace (imagine us with a few years with the head as wide as the thorax) and the rest of the body advances more rapidly.
That is why it is not an easy task for the baby's head to pass through the birth canal, although nature makes it possible. Frequently baby's head deforms during birth to go through the maternal pelvis, and we see it with a "strange way."
Head shape
Normally this shape is tapered, slightly pointed. If the cervix is not dilated enough, the expulsive becomes more difficult and the deformation may be more evident. The newborn's hair could, however, disguise this elongated shape. But, How is it possible that the baby's head does not have the same round shape as on ultrasound?
Again, wise nature has endowed us with a skull divided into several bony plates. At birth, these bones are not welded but are joined together by elastic, fibrous and strong tissues, which leave some "holes" more or less evident from the outside, known as the fontanelles.
The skull has yet to grow (and inside the brain), so that "flexibility" that changes the shape of the baby's head at birth has its function beyond, effectively, going through the birth canal.
In Babies and moreThe baby fontanelle: everything you need to knowInside the head, the brain will grow physically but there will also be multiple internal transformations that increase the complexity of neuronal connections.
Obviously, the "strange" shape of the baby's head will only have it if it has been born vaginally, since in the case of caesarean section the head does not suffer any pressure.
Total, that between the strange shape of the head, the wrinkles that are born, its undefined color, the remains of vernix, blood, etc., the newborn is quite far from the idyllic image of the chubby baby from the movies. But soon it will look a lot ...
Definitely, the shape of the baby's head at birth It depends on the way in which it has reached the world: if it is through a vaginal delivery, it is usual that it is not a rounded head. However, in a few days the baby's head assumes its usual form, and there each one will already have its peculiarities.
