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Fontanelles are soft spots on a baby’s head that allow for easier passage through the birth canal. Humans have several fontanelles that eventually close as the skull forms more bone. The presence of fontanelles can cause temporary head deformities, but they also protect babies from falls. Doctors can use anterior fontanel analysis to assess a baby’s health. Many animals also have fontanelles to survive the birth process.
A fontanelle, or fontanel, is what is commonly referred to as a soft spot on a baby’s head. Most often we think of the area just above the forehead as a child’s soft spot. Humans actually have several fontanelles, one in front, one behind and several on the sides of the skull.
The purpose of these fontanelles is to facilitate easier passage of the baby’s large head through the birth canal. Instead of being made entirely of bone, there are large areas of thick connective tissue covered by a membrane that will eventually close as the skull forms more bone. They help the baby’s head conform to the size of the birth canal by being much more flexible than bone. Once a baby is born, these fontanelles take several months to several years to close completely, although you may notice that the front one closes after the first few months of life.
The presence of the frontal and occipital (anterior and posterior) fontanelle membranes explains why babies can sometimes be born with deformed heads. Spending a lot of time in the birth canal can cause a baby to have a cone-shaped head when newborn. Over the next few weeks, the head will gradually resize to a rounder, more expected shape. Typically, babies delivered by cesarean section tend to have rounder and more regularly shaped heads because they have not entered the birth canal.
There is much concern about the large anterior fontanelle and head injuries in the child in his or her early years of life. In general, the strong membrane protects a child from falling, although an extreme blow to the head could cause excessive injury. Such an injury is unlikely and even when babies are walking (around age one) their large fontanelle is not completely closed. Children learning to walk have many falls and emerge, in most cases, unharmed or with only minor injuries.
Doctors can use anterior fontanel analysis to assess a baby’s health. If a child is not getting enough to eat or is suffering from a stomach virus, the anterior fontanelle may have a “sunken” appearance which indicates that the child is dehydrated. This diagnostic technique becomes less and less useful as the child grows.
Many animals have various fontanelle configurations. Many mammals are born with heads that are generally larger in size than the rest of the body. The need to pass through the birth canal means that a completely bony skull could cause complications or result in death or injury to both mother and baby in a variety of animal species. These membranous connections between the bones of the head therefore hold a key to many animals, including humans, surviving the birth process.
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