What it means
Fluid collects under the skin of the part of the head that pressed against the cervix during labor, or under a vacuum cup. The soft, puffy swelling is present at birth, can cross the lines where the skull bones meet (suture lines) and goes away on its own within a few days. It differs from a cephalohematoma, which is blood under the covering of a skull bone, does not cross suture lines and appears hours after birth.
For the nurse
Reassure parents that it is harmless and will go down in a few days. Note its size and place at the newborn assessment.
Remember it
Caput crosses (the suture lines); cephalohematoma does not.
Related terms
presenting part
The part of the fetus that lies closest to the cervix and enters the birth canal first.