What is Spinal Muscular Atrophy? What is the life expectancy of someone with SMA and what is the cure? - Dr. Seema Gaonkar

What is a Collapsed Neonate? Most common causes & management of neonatal collapse? - Dr. Seema Gaonkar

So soft spots on the baby head. Basically these soft spots are called as fontanelle in medical language. They are actually not soft spots they have their firm scalp layer but they are basically the areas in between the skull bones. Skull bone is not a single bone it is a multiple bones which are communicating and those bones in between those bones you will have this soft spots. So why are they there? Because you know when they're born their brain is not completely grown and when they come from the mother's pelvis it's a hard bony structure with some soft structures when baby has to come out through that narrow passage they have to negotiate, the head has to negotiate the head being the hard part and the big part it has to negotiate negotiation means it has to you know mold. When they have to mold obviously it has to be open if like an adult head all the sutures all these skull bones are fixed then it can't be able to mold or overlap on one another. So to do that molding first thing is the sutures are not closed and there are in between soft spots so that when the baby comes out easily molds and baby comes out and slowly those sutures again open up. Second important reason why these soft spots are there is because when the baby is growing, when the babies come out the head size is quite less compared to an adult head size. It's around 33 to 36 centimeters so it has to grow to almost 15 centimeters more in a size going for the adult head. So the brain growth has to happen in next two to two and a half years. So for the brain to grow it needs space otherwise if all the sutures are closed the brain can't grow. Correct? So the brain has no space and the skull will have abnormal shape. So that is why this nature has made like there are some spots soft spots what you see and there are sutures which are not at closed and they are just having some fibrous closure or fibrous structures in between. So as and when the head grows they will be giving space for it to grow. Later when the brain growth is almost complete these structures will slowly slowly slowly close and will become the permanent one vault of the skull. That is why these soft spots are there. Now are these soft spots too delicate? No, they are not delicate. Soft spots though they feel delicate for the parents they have their own thick membrane of scalp structures. If you touch them gently or you know you massage the head there won't be any damage to the baby. So there is no harm in doing any of these activities with the baby and what is the significance of them other than you know just growth of the brain or anything? What they matter is also they tell us that if they are not closed you know they have to close in certain age you know. So when they're closing? There are two basic head spots that is front is called as Anterior Fontanelle, back is called as Posterior. Actually there are other spots also on the sides but the significant are these two. So the posterior one can close anywhere from birth to three months and the front one which can close from one and a half years to maximum of two years. Ideally it should close by one and half years. So what if they don't close? Usually if they don't close there are certain reasons for it like one is thyroid problems what you say hypothyroidism, some some genetic problem like down syndromes or some babies with rickets where there's Vitamin D deficiency in those babies especially the Anterior Fontanelle may not close at the particular time. In some babies it may close very fast so that the brain growth also it won't give the time for the compartment to increase like in hyperthyroidism, hyperparathyroidism and there is a condition called as craniosynostosis where there is a premature closure of these sutures happen so that the brain is not getting space to you know grow only. So the head size will go in a variation size it won't grow in a round shape what an adult size so either it goes longitudinally or on the back so abnormal shapes of the head also can come because of early closures of the or yet birth only closures of the sutures and the soft spots. That's the significance of these soft spots.

Fourth trimester actually looks like a very fascinating term which is a quite new term. It actually means post delivery for any mother. Actually in pregnancy she will have only three trimesters first, second and third trimester. Fourth trimester means post delivery till 12 weeks of the baby, from the delivery to 12 weeks of the baby's birth. So that fourth trimester is specifically coined to understand or to make everybody aware of the significance of it. Because once the baby is born the pregnancy is already terminated but neither the baby is completely ready nor the mother is completely ready to take the full care of both of theirs, each others or both of theirs. So mother also needs special supports because she is just started lactating, she is having wounds, she needs physical, emotional, mental supports and lot of encouragement, lot of practice to feed. There's so many things going on in her body nine months whatever has changed in her has to come back. So there's so many things which are happening in her. The other aspect being a pediatrician I would like to discuss about the baby. The other aspect from the baby side this first 12 weeks or at least first six weeks a very very crucial in baby's life because baby was all these days enjoying inside the mother's womb in the amniotic fluid or the liquor of the mother safely and it comes out first it has to cry, breathe by itself though the feed is given it has to digest the feed, it has to pass the motions out, pass the urine out that so many things baby has to do independently, maintain its temperature you know and cry for anything which it needs like the diaper to be changed or the feed to be given there's so many things baby need to do independently like baby has cried after birth, baby has to cry for feeds, for changing of diapers, for changing of positions and baby also has to adjust to the external environment, external noises, external lights and so many other things. Okay? The temperature changes the you know humidity changes and so many things that's in the early parts. Also then baby has to learn to feed so a baby has to suckle feed adjust with the breasts so many things and after that baby has to grow with the milestones also. Baby has to start looking around, focusing, smiling you know reacting to the sounds, reacting to the light, reacting to the people, react you know looking at the people so development also will be going ahead. So these are the challenges in first 6-12 weeks when the baby is facing and the mother is also facing lot of you know issues with that and they both need certain kind of bonding, certain kind of support from the environment that is why this fourth trimester is specifically coined because they need emotional support, they need physical support, they need other than that mental support also especially for the mother and baby needs lot lot lot of physical support and the feeding and nourishment and the warmth.

Main reasons why a baby needs incubator. How long is it used for & it’s Benefits? - Dr. Seema Gaonkar

Importance of Newborn Health Checkup. How long should parents continue regular checkup for their babies? - Dr. Seema Gaonkar