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Why Does My Baby Have a Conehead?​
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# Why Does My Baby Have a Conehead?

Many babies are born with a "conehead" shape. Here's why you shouldn't worry.

Updated on November 16, 2023

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Close-up photograph of a newborn sleeping in his crib with his toys:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/Getty-Images-1191118257-2000-f45af2137b4349a8978c7a544b9a3fcf.jpg)

Manuel Breva Colmeiro/Getty Images

New parents are often surprised by how their newborn looks. This disconnect may happen because rather than envisioning a newborn, they're picturing a 2- to 3-month-old with full cherub cheeks and smooth round heads. However, as adorable as they are, many newborns arrive scrunched up, coated in vernix caseosa, and often with a "conehead." Cone-shaped heads, in particular, can be very concerning for parents.

Luckily, there's nothing to worry about. Being born with a conehead is a benign condition called caput succedaneum. It does not cause any damage or risk to the baby. In fact, it's perfectly normal for a newborn to be born with a conehead—and their head will return to its round shape in just a few days or weeks. Read on to learn about coneheads in newborns, what to do if your new baby has a cone-shaped head, and when to consult with your baby's doctor.

## Why Do Newborns Get Cone-Shaped Heads?

Newborns have soft spots called fontanels on their heads, but did you know your infant's skull plates are flexible? During vaginal delivery, these bones shift to help a baby fit through the cervical opening and narrow birth canal. The flexible skull plates allow the baby's head to safely compress during delivery.

However, all that pressure on the skull can give it a tapered or "conehead" shape, leaving your new child looking like an alien from a Dan Aykroyd movie. This puffed-up look is due to swelling or fluid accumulating on the top of the head, similar to how swelling can occur elsewhere in the body due to injury. Not to worry, however: The condition, while technically a type of birth injury or trauma, is harmless and usually resolves on its own within a matter of weeks if not days.

## Should You Worry About a Conehead?

It is not a cause for concern if your baby is born with a conehead. "Heads aren't perfect," says Nicole Glyn, MD, a pediatrician with GetzWell Pediatrics in San Francisco and a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). "We have lots of asymmetries, lumps, and bumps, and once you grow hair, you don't see them. A cone-shaped head is not damaging to a baby's brain development or cognitive function."

In fact, while temporarily having a conehead is common, fractures or other serious birth injuries to the head are rare and affect less than 4 incidences per 100,000 births.

## Risk Factors for Developing a Conehead

A newborn's cone-shaped head can result from squeezing through the vaginal canal during birth or before labor if they "dropped" early, making head-first contact with the parent's pelvis, according to the AAP. For this reason, babies delivered by C-section can also have a conehead after birth if their head was pressed against the walls of the uterus or cervix prior to delivery.

In addition, if you had a long labor, complications, or interventions like vacuum extraction or forceps, your baby may be more likely to have a cone-shaped head after birth. If your baby was born with a conehead shape, you might be able to gently run your hand over their head and feel the swollen tissue and ridges formed by their skull plates overlapping.

## Is Having a Conehead Related to Flat Head Syndrome?

Different from a conehead that is a result of labor and delivery, infants can also develop skull deformities after birth. The most common is flat head syndrome or plagiocephaly, which happens due to spending too much time in one position. The development of flat head syndrome is not linked to having a conehead at birth.

Rather, many babies develop a flat head from spending so much time on their backs. Laying on their back is the safest sleep position for a baby but can result in heads that are flat on the sides or back of the head. Typically, this condition will resolve itself once a baby starts spending more time in different positions (such as on their belly during tummy time) but may also require treatment.

## Can You "Fix" a Newborn's Conehead?

Although your baby's skull will round out on its own over the first several days or weeks of life, parents can help the process along. Plus, these steps will also help to prevent (or treat) flat head syndrome down the line.

### Tummy time

Stick to the tummy time routine that the AAP recommends for all newborns, advises Dr. Glynn. Too much time lying on their back can cause flat spots on the back of an infant's skull.

"Generally, I recommend doing tummy time two to three times a day for up to a few minutes starting as soon as parents get home from the hospital," says Dr. Glynn. "Or even doing skin-to-skin with baby laying on your chest while you're reclined can serve the same purpose as tummy time, giving them time off the back of their head."

Just be careful not to fall asleep on a couch or recliner while holding your newborn, and never place your baby on their stomach to sleep. Both scenarios can put babies at risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

### Limit their time in the car seat

In addition to active tummy time, think about how much time your baby spends in a position that keeps their head compressed in some way. For example, car seats, baby swings, and bouncy seats are convenient devices, but too much time in any of them can put pressure on the back of your baby's skull.

Likewise, switching which arm you hold your baby in will help round out which parts of your baby's head experience pressure.

## Does a Conehead Need Treatment?

Being born with a cone-shaped head is a benign, short-lived issue that does not need medical intervention. The swelling does not impact your baby's brain development or cognitive function. If you're tempted to ask your pediatrician for a "baby helmet," remember that helmet therapy, according to the AAP, is not needed and is typically reserved for positional plagiocephaly.

Additionally, a baby helmet is used to change the shape of the skull. That's not the issue for a newborn with a conehead. The main remedy for a conehead is simply letting the swelling go down and skull bones move back into the correct position, which just takes time.

Similarly, other medical interventions like physical therapy and surgery are used in severe cases of head flattening. The conehead shape many newborns rock after delivery typically resolves on its own without treatment in a few days to a few weeks.

## When to Contact Your Baby's Doctor

In very rare cases, complications such as jaundice or temporary hair loss can occur with a conehead. If the swelling of your baby's conehead does not appear to be going away after a week or so, consult with their pediatrician. However, your doctor will be checking your baby's head at every well-baby visit and should alert you if anything seems amiss. Additionally, don't hesitate to bring up any questions or concerns you have about your baby's head.

### Key Takeaways

Many babies are born with coneheads due to the squeezing that occurs during childbirth, which causes swelling on the top of the head. Technically, this is a "birth injury" but this condition does not cause any lasting harm to the baby or their cognitive development. Additionally, their head should be back to its normal round shape in a few days to weeks.

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