Vacuum-assited births-scalp marks?

reyn_grey

So I had a vacuum assisted birth and afterward LO had a round, red bruised looking area on her head where the vacuum was attached. It went away after a couple days but today I noticed a red bruised area on her head. She is 11 weeks old and the red area is nearly perfect round, doesn't seem to hurt her at all and is in the same spot as the vacuum mark. Would it take this long to heal?

Its only really noticeable in natural light, I can hardly see it in our bright living room but if I walk out on the porch it shows up. Has anyone else seen this? She is happy and playing and doesn't seem affected. I'm planning on calling the doc in the morning and seeing if we can get in but in the meantime, I'm worrying.

StrawberryAlarmClock

Not sure. It could be some blood under the skin where some blood vessels were broken and that would take quite some time for the body to reabsorb.  DS had a scalp electrode and still has a faint scab 8 weeks later. He also had his heel sticks for weeks and a rubbed spot on his toe from his swaddle was not healed after 7 weeks.  Maybe little ones take longer to heal??

AlisonLynn

They used the vacuum on DS 17 times! It was rough. He had some blood collected under the scalp but it went away quickly. I notice some birth marks he has on his head though. Not sure if they are from the vacuum or if they are actually birth marks. I think he might have a spot from the vacuum but I would need to check. He is sleeping now so I will take a look when he is up. I wouldn't be too worried. DS is around 11 weeks too, almost 12. Have you asked the pedi?

reyn_grey

I haven't asked the pedi yet, going to try and get in to see her tomorrow if they can get me in. I just noticed it today but the weather has been crud since LO was born and today was one of the first days we could go outside. In the sun it really shows up but indoor light not so much. There is no swelling and the pedi went over LO really good at her 2 month checkup--I'm not sure if we both missed it or if it wasn't there. It is just weird that it is perfectly round. The hair there is also starting to wear and break off but the pedi warned me that she'd start losing her newborn hair here soon.

AlisonLynn

I'm sure its fine. Just check with the pedi next time you're there. I'll check DS to see if he has the same thing. The NICU people checked him out several times when he was in the hospital to be sure he was ok.

BSweet823

DD had the vacuum three times, before they decided they didn't really need to use it.  She had some bleeding from it and some nasty scabs for a week or two, it was awful!  When she had her 2 week check they said that the blood might ossify and create a little knot under the skin but that it would go away over time and not to worry.  I can still see somewhat of a little ring on her head and there is a bit of a bump.  It doesn't seem to bother her at all now.

I'm sure she'll be fine but checking with the Pedi will put your mind at ease.