Function
Fontanelles play an important role at birth. Since the child’s skull is pressed through a narrow birth canal, it must be able to deform somewhat. Since the skull plates are not fused together, but are connected to each other by the connective tissue fontanelles and sutures, they can shift against each other or over each other during birth.
This allows a short-term reduction of the head circumference when passing through the birth canal. After birth, the skull returns to its original shape. In addition, the large and small fontanelles are particularly important for the doctor and midwife during birth, as they can assess the position of the head by palpating these two fontanelles.
Both fontanelles can be distinguished by their shape and size when palpated. As already mentioned, the position of the head, where the small fontanel represents the lowest point of the skull, is the best position for an uncomplicated birth. Fontanelles play a decisive role not only during birth.
Since the child’s brain is subject to strong growth, the skull must grow with it. The fontanelles are flexible areas between the skull plates in the newborn that allow the brain to grow unhindered. As the brain grows slowly, the fontanelles begin to close up.
Fontanelle pocht/pulsates
Since the fontanelles represent a transition between the skull plates consisting of connective tissue, the newborn’s pulse can be partially palpated or recognized at these points. Since there is no bone in these areas to shield the brain from the outside, the pulsation of the blood vessels under the fontanelles, which supply the brain, can be seen on the scalp. Through the heartbeat of the child, the blood is pumped from the heart into the vessels of the whole body and thus also into the brain.The pressure required for this can be felt as a pulse in several places on the body. Since babies, unlike adults, still have fontanelles, the pulse can be seen on the child’s head or felt with the fingers at these points. Thus, the pulsation of the fontanelles is completely normal and in most cases does not represent a warning signal for diseases.