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· 11 Feb 2022

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When do baby’s soft spots go away?

The presence of soft spot in baby’s head is a completely normal and natural phenomenon. There is no reason to believe anything is wrong when you feel the soft spot on their head. Babies are born with soft spots because their skull bones are not fused as that of adults at the time of birth. Thus, there is gap between the skull bones and one could feel the soft inner mass (the brain) by touching that area. Within 2-3 months of the birth of the baby, the small spot at the back closes usually. The large spot takes around 18 months to go away. The presence of soft spot is the reason why infants are kept much protected up to age of 2-3 years so that any head injury could be avoided as that directly affects the brain since it is not protected with the strong skull as like adults. Let us understand why protecting the soft spot is a matter of concern for the parents and when do baby’s soft spot go away?

The soft spot on a baby's head
Babies are born with two soft spots on the head, one on the top and one on the backside of the head. Among these, the one on the top of the head is comparatively larger one. The presence of soft spots ease the child birth process as the skull is flexible enough to pass the birth canal.
Every parent is afraid of touching the baby's soft spot on the head. The reason being, parents think that by touching it, they can hurt the baby’s brain. However, in reality, it is not so. The head of the baby is covered by a tough and thick membrane that protects the brain. Therefore, there is no danger in touching the soft spots of your baby's head. Even, it is completely fine to brush the feathery soft and beautiful thin hair of the baby.

Time of concern about baby's soft spot
The soft spots generally disappear in 12-18 months after birth. One of the two goes away within a month or two and the other usually by end of 2 years. However, if the soft spots remain even after 18 months to 24 months, it may indicate a medical expert consultation. The parents in general find only one soft spot up to 18 months of age of the baby.

Accidentally hitting baby's soft spot
Parents should be very careful of baby’s soft spot and make possible arrangements and care to avoid any fall or head injury. Since it is delicate and any injury could lead to fatal and lifelong consequences. Therefore, even the head brushing or combing should be done with light hand pressure with least pressure, so that, any possibility of hard-hit can be avoided. Since the skull bones are still not completely fused, there are high chances that any hit could damage the brain, in turn affecting the different physiological as well as psychological areas of functioning. Therefore, while touching a baby's soft spots, even accidentally, you need to keep in mind the quantum of pressure.
  
The time it takes for soft spots to close
Finally, we come to our main issue as to when the soft spots of babies will disappear. The simple answer is that the first spot at the backside goes out within 2-3 months from the birth of the baby and the front soft spots generally fill up around 18 months.

Therefore, keeping these things in mind will enable you to protect your baby from head injury and the associated lifelong consequences. There is nothing to worry about but act wisely.


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