The 2 Major Signs That Your Baby Is Going To Have A Big Head

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A lot is going through your mind when you’re expecting. For one thing, you don’t know what to expect if you’re a first-time parent. You keep running through the whole childbirth procedure in your head, making sure you understand every step and are prepared for everything to come (or at least you hope so). An interesting question that you might ponder is the size of your baby’s head. This has got to be important, right? After all, the baby is going to come out of you head-first, so the bigger its head, the wider your opening will have to be.

The Fetal Medicine Foundation has found that it isn’t too uncommon to have a larger than average head size at birth. It affects one in every hundred babies and is four times more likely in males than females (1). Its official term is macrocephaly. You will be relieved to know that in most cases, the condition is benign, i.e., not harmful. The baby will have a perfectly normal life and, surprisingly, are more likely to earn university degrees (2).

So, not all bad, right?

That being said, there is a downside too. Having a big head can complicate the procedure of childbirth. From the possible tearing of delicate skin, an episiotomy, the baby just getting stuck, to the worst case scenario: requiring an emergency c-section. Studies have also indicated that it could also be a sign of a medical or developmental condition. It is, hence, important for your doctor to measure the size of your baby during your prenatal visits, especially in the second trimester.

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Thankfully, you don’t have to be blind-sided by this condition. Science has ensured that you don’t have to wait for the date of birth in order to tell if your baby is likely to have a larger than normal head. It can be quite a simple process.

In This Article

Inherited Macrocephaly

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If either you or your partner has a big head, then, chances are, your baby is going to have a big head too. This is one trait that definitely passes down through the genes. So stand next to your partner in front of a mirror and take a look. Now you know!

Although this test is not definitive, it gives you a pretty accurate picture of what is going to happen to the size of your baby’s head.

Large Head Circumference During Ultrasounds

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Any competent doctor is going to take measurements of your growing baby, during your prenatal visits. Ultrasounds have come a long way, and you can get measurements down to a great deal of accuracy. After 18 weeks or so, a second-trimester ultrasound morphology is performed. Here, the baby’s measurements are taken down in detail and are checked against a frame of reference that is common for most babies. Using these measurements, the gestational age of the baby is calculated. This is the age as per the development of the baby and may be up to ten days different from the expected age as per the date of your last period.

If your baby is deemed to have a head larger than the standard size, appropriate steps can be taken. In most cases, there is nothing to worry about and normal procedures take place. However, it might be necessary for you to increase the number of visits to the doctor in your third trimester in case of any complications (3). A research paper published in Sweden has found that a larger head could cause changes in a normal pregnancy, leading to the possibility of an emergency c-section (4).

In most cases, there is nothing to be worried about. Trust your doctor to let you know if there something is going to be different about your childbirth. They will talk and walk you through anything unexpected so that you can have the most pleasant delivery and no harm comes to your baby. Good luck!

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