Babies with big heads??????? Whats the cause and whats happens next???

Ashley - posted on 09/23/2012

I'm going through the same thing! My pediatrician told me that my daughters head growth scared him! So he referred me to a neurosurgeon I finally got an appoint oct 6 and I'm scared to death!

Melissa - posted on 08/19/2012

Thanks I'm going 2 make an appointmaent tomorrow with my gp she wasn't premature I went 1 day over with her but alway through pregnancy I never measured right wen I was 24 week I measured 20 week n then I went at 26 week and I measured 22 week and from after 26 week I always measured 4 week behind my friend has got a 6 month old baby and she is the same size as her and there's 3 months difference x

Bridgitt - posted on 08/18/2012

My son was born at 28 weeks. He had 3 ultrasounds on his head while in the NICU to check for bleeds which is standard procedure for preemies. All ultrasounds were normal, there were no bleeds. His head size was not a concern during his 10.5 week stay in the NICU however, as he continued to thrive his head seemed to always be in the 90+% for his adjusted AND his chronological age. The main concern was hydrocephalus- fluid on the brain that would be putting pressure on the brain as the skull closes. Apparently there are some studies that link large head circumference with autism according to his physical therapist.



After months of our pediatrician tracking his head circumference, a CT was ordered and he was referred to a neurosurgeon. He has what they consider to be a "benign amount of fluid", not hydrocephalus, and the fluid will either reabsorb on its own or he will always have it but it is not causing any pressure or damage. This is a common occurrence with premature births.



If a CT scan or MRI has not been ordered, I strongly suggest requesting one for your peace of mind. Consulting with a neurosurgeon or neurologist is also very helpful, because in my experience, preemies have so many "exceptions" to the general rule of pediatrics, it is best to consult a specialist. More than likely, nothing is wrong. However, if there is pressure, the sooner it is corrected the less likely it will cause damage or affect him. Good luck!

Melissa - posted on 08/18/2012

My daughter recently had her 6-9 month review an when the health visitor did (hc) head circumference and told me to go see my gp about her hc I looked in her red book and she is on the 91st centile and for her weight she as only just moved onto the 9th centile I'm worried that when I go see her gp that there will be something wrong with her it has scared me a little bit can anyone help I'm quite scared to go see the gp thanks

Joann - posted on 02/18/2012

My som is 13 and has allways had a very large head even before he was born ! They told me he was going to be over ten pounds and would not even let me try to deliver him. I had preplanned c- section. ( by the way, he was 7' 11 ) they kept measuring his head in the ultra sounds . LOL... Well they did a cat scan when he was only a few hrs old, big heads run on my husbands side. He was allways over the 100 percentile on his head size at his well baby visits. They stopped measuring his head when the tape they use would no longer fit him. He developed very normally and spoke very early . But did not walk intill 13 mths and did fall alot do to his heavy head. We took him to a neurologist at 3 yrs do to a bad bump on his head ( from falling) just to check it out. He has allways had above normal IQ . We told him his head size was large due to super brainpower ! Adult hats size was what he allways had to wear as a little kid. The one thing that did worry me was his bad temper. When we took him to a specialist ( Nero) he suggested we" try" a shunt because of his larger than normal ventricular spaces in his brain.he was 10 yrs old by now. We said No THANK YOU ! He is 13 now and makes the honor roll and is a wiz on the computer tests on a tenth grade level. And yup still has a super big head ! But he also has allways been on the 95 percentile for hight and weight his whole life. He is now 5'7 and 160 lbs. yup he is not small, just and thank god he can pull off the super brain size. God has made us all unique in our own way . If your child is hitting his developmental milestones on time ( and that can be a wide range) I would just enjoy you child and not worry too much . We are all a little diffrent in our own way . Hats off to super brainpower !!!

Bonnie - posted on 12/07/2011

I am 55 years old. I have always had a big head (one size hats do NOT fit all)! My mom says that when I was born the doctor and nurses kept measuring my head until finally someone asked what size hat my dad wore. After that, everyone settled down. There wasn't sudden growth though, just a large skull from birth, apparently.

Keri - posted on 04/10/2010

I would assume that it is not the size of his head, but actually the sudden increase in size that has your doctor concerned. It is a sign of hydrocephalus and that is why he is re-checking and will possibly order an MRI to see if there is fluid build up in his head. If there is, they can insert a shunt to re-route the fluid to avoid the build up of pressure in his head.

Tracy - posted on 04/08/2010

don't where Vernoica Ruiz my son has the same thing and he had to have a MRI and a ECG done. And my son was the same as ur they had to put him to sleep they give u some liquid antiestioc that u put in his mouth and he takes it and about 30 minutes he is out. All of my sons test came back normal

Amandaa - posted on 04/05/2010

my son also has a large head he was sent for a catscan and an mri and we found out the cause of it is he has an enlarged brain cavity cause by fluid on his brain
he is 18 months old and they have been ust keeping an eye on him up until now... he has recently started having seizures and is going to see the neurologist again in may

Kristi - posted on 04/05/2010

My "little" Wes is in the 50 percentile in height, and in the 60 percentile for weight, but is OVER the 100 percentile for head size ... My doc and nurses weren't concerned at all ... but I guess it's better to be safe than sorry ...

Good luck! Keep us posted

Charlotte - posted on 04/04/2010

Our little one had a large head and small brain to start with and they were worried she might have hydrocephalus. If she had then she would have had a shunt put in to allow the fluid that wasn't draining naturally to drain. Luckily, they have kept an eye on her and now, at 15 months, she is right on the 50th centile. They are happy with it but will still keep an eye on it and we go back in 6 months for another measurement. Not sure if this helps or not, but thought I would share where we are and our experience :-)

Jay - posted on 04/02/2010

Our son has a huge head compared with the rest of him - his Ped says research is showing now that children with multiple allergies are shown to have hugh heads :)

Anna - posted on 04/01/2010

I did do I little research online, and it seems that an enlarged head can be caused by water on the brain, or "hydrocephalus". You can read about it @ http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/hydro... or just type the word in your search. I would not worry about it quite yet though because if you have large heads in your family it can just be a genetic thing. The fact that your doctor will has scheduled an MRI shows that he is at least taking the time to check up on it. None of the ultra sounds on my preemie showed anything but the light scarring left from her bleed. My preemie was born at 30 weeks and was 2 lbs 12 oz. That is interesting Wanda, because I have always been concerned about her soft spot. My new pediatrician (I just moved to another state) does not even seem to care that her soft spot is still there whereas my other pediatrician had thought we needed to keep our eye on it. But he never really explained why. I think I will need to research that as well.

Wanda - posted on 04/01/2010

My cousin's preemie had a soft spot until he was 2 yrs old (he'll be 4 in June) and, yes, he has a big head (he wears the same size hat as his grandma). While he has no serious effects from the soft spot/ big head there are a few minor issues. He has trouble with his fine motor skills (not uncommon in preemies anyway but in his case directly related to his head). He can't do up his own coat zipper, he can't put the pieces in a puzzle (the ones where all you do is match the shapes), he can't thread a shoe lace through holes in paper and little things like that. My cousin's doc told her that he can do these things but that his brain is telling him he can't (because the soft spot was open so long it irritated his brain), so she has to work with him and help him realize he can do it.

Veronica - posted on 03/31/2010

1st thank you for a reply. We havent done any ultra sounds yet. And yes he still does have a soft spot. Is that bad??? And why?? He born at 32 weeks

Anna - posted on 03/31/2010

My baby has always had a huge head also. Her head is in the 50th percentile while her height and weight are in the 5th percentile. I know that when she was in the NICU she had a brain bleed and she is a year old now and still has a soft spot. No one ever told me what to really worry about, but my pediatrician had ultra sounds on her brain a couple of times. I am not sure if that was because of the bleed, with the combination of her head size. Did your baby ever have bleeding? Does he still have a soft spot?