Cranial deformities in babies

Cranial deformities in babies, such as plagiocephaly, brachycephaly or scaphocephaly, are a deformation of the growing skull caused by mechanical pressure of some of its parts before, during or after childbirth.

The bones that form the vault and cranial base of the fetus, baby, and infant less than 3 months old are still poorly ossified and are separated from one another by sutures and fontanels.

If for any reason they receive excessive or continuous pressure, their normal growth is interfered with and deformations can be caused by the flattening of a part of the skull.

Cranial Index: A normal head is oval in shape when viewed from above and has a normal width-to-length ratio of 80%. This ratio allows us to quantify the degree of deformation of the baby’s skull.