The swelling usually disappears in a few days without problems.
Cephalohematoma:.
Cephalohematoma is an area of bleeding underneath one of the cranial bones. It often appears several hours after birth as a raised lump on the baby's head. Depending on the size, most cephalohematomas take 2 weeks to 3 months to disappear completely. If the area of bleeding is large, some babies may develop jaundice as the red blood cells break down.
Bruising/forceps marks:.
Some babies may show signs of bruising on the face or head simply as a result of the trauma of passing though the birth canal and contact with the mother's pelvic bones and tissues. If forceps are used during delivery they can leave temporary marks or bruises on the baby's face and head.
Facial paralysis:.
During labor or birth, pressure on a baby's face may cause the facial nerve to be injured. This may also occur with the use of forceps for delivery. The injury is often seen when the baby cries. There is no movement on the side of the face with the injury and the eye cannot be closed. If the nerve was only bruised, the paralysis usually improves in a few weeks. If the nerve was torn, surgery may be needed.
Fractures:.
Fracture of the clavicle or collarbone is the most common fracture during labor and delivery. The clavicle may break when there is difficulty delivering the baby's shoulder or during a breech delivery. The baby with a fractured clavicle rarely moves the arm on the side of the break. There may be bruising over the broken bone. Simply immobilizing the arm and shoulder is the recommended treatment and healing begins quickly. .
• Prematurity .
A baby born before 37 weeks of pregnancy is considered premature, that is, born before complete maturity. Slightly fewer than 12 percent of all babies are premature. Twins and other multiples are about six times more likely to be premature than single birth babies. The rate of premature single births is slightly increasing each year.