Word parts
What it means
Small blood vessels break during a long or assisted birth, and blood collects under the thin covering of one skull bone. Because the covering is attached at the edges of the bone, the swelling stops at the suture lines. It often shows up hours to a day after birth and slowly goes away over weeks. As the blood breaks down, it can add to newborn jaundice. It is different from caput succedaneumKAP-ut suk-seh-DAY-nee-umSwelling of the soft tissue of a newborn's scalp, formed by pressure on the head during birth.Full entry , which is swelling of the scalp itself.
For the nurse
Watch the newborn's skin color and bilirubin level. Reassure parents that it usually goes away without treatment.
At a glance
| Also written | cephalhematoma |
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Related terms
cephal/o
A word part that means head.
bilirubin
A yellow pigment made when old red blood cells break down, which the liver clears into bile.
physiologic jaundice
Yellowing of a newborn's skin and eyes from a normal, short-lived rise in bilirubin in the first days after birth.
caput succedaneum
Swelling of the soft tissue of a newborn's scalp, formed by pressure on the head during birth.