To worry about my sons spine

[Logiclady94]

Hi all, just wanted some advice on whether I am being unreasonable to worry about my sons spine or not. He was born at 34 weeks in January, he only weighed 3 lbs 8. He had two weeks of no growth so that was the reason they decided to deliver him early.

Since he has started putting on weight the crease in his bum has gone into a Y shape. There is a deep dimple at the bottom of the crease in between and there seems to be a fatty lump under the surface of the crease.

He is almost 6 months from his due date and he is 6 months from his actual birth so he should be better at sitting up but he still leans forward and falls backwards like his spine isn’t strong enough. He is constantly leaning forward which makes him a very sicky baby 😓

I am getting really concerned that he has a form of Spina Bifida Occulta but as he was in and out of hospital from January to March surely something should have been picked up.

Typos sorry I meant Dimple.

I've also had. A baby at 34 weeks and she took over year to "catch up"

I’d also say he’s in the normal range of sitting.

How do you mean about him always leaning forward? Does he just need a different sort of seat or to be strapped in tighter, if it’s in a buggy you mean.
I would be supposed of that makes him sickly.

The sacral dimple would have been examined thoroughly. They tend to be associated with spina bifida when they are open. A closed dimple without major developmental issues is unlikely to be associated with that (what you described isn’t major - some kids just don’t sit up until later). If you are worried take him to a GP

I dont know about the spine dimple but reassure you on the sitting my DD didnt sit until 8 months and didnt even roll until 6 months and she is a happy healthy 3 year old now.

Thank you for your advice everyone. The dimple does appear to be closed and it is right at the end of his Y shaped crease. The leaning forward is in any position whether we have him sat on our knee or in his little giraffe chair he leans forward.

The buggy and highchair which have stamps have held him in an upright position better but he still appears to lean forward ever so slightly

I think because I have been so worried about him since this time last year when I had the first 12 week scan and it came back that there might be a problem my judgement is clouded and I cannot settle

I have spina bifida occulta. My gran did too. I've had 6 ops for pilonidal sinuses over the years.

Dd has a sacral dimple (I did too but you can't see it anymore) so I will be keeping a close eye on as she gets older and can refer to a colorectal surgeon if she needs to see one.

One of my brothers was diagnosed with it when he was a young adult.

He was small, probably premature and ill at birth and didn't progress as quickly as the older siblings. But he did sit up (at about 9-10 months), learn to walk (and swim, do karate, etc) and generally get on with being a smaller little boy than others.

They still didn't find it until he'd been in a motorbike accident and needed an bunch of x-rays.]]One of my friends didn't know he had it until many years later when he needed a pilonidal sinus treated. He now has back pain, but he is in his fifties.

Getting it checked is good. Catastrophising, whilst natural in your circumstances, isn't.

@Logiclady94

He has a very deep dimple at the bottom which researching could be a sacral dimple but they can cause problems too.

@clairethewitch70- Sorry do you mind mentioning what kind of issues so I know what I could be looking at? I have a daughter who is 14 months older (she was supposed to be 16 months older) so if he requires extra care I need to at least have an idea

The issue i have appeared later, around my late twenties. The hole has made my spine weaker and i have degenerative disc disease and spinal stenosis.

@Logiclady94 I don't know anything about your son's condition, but if you can afford it, go for a private appointment. My son had a few issues after he was born and I would have had to wait a couple of months for an NHS appointment. The private appointment was the best £200 I spent as it put my mind at ease and meant I wasn't spending a couple of months of my son's early life worrying.

I don't know anything about spina bifida but my DS did not sit up properly at 6 months old. I remember being worried as we couldn't sit him down without propping him up when most other six month olds seemed to be sitting up. He did eventually sit up at around 8 months old or possibly even later . He also rarely put weight on his legs like a lot of babies do..He started commando crawling at about a year old but within a month moved to walking around on his knees and never crawled again . So he spent 6 months walking around on his knees buy upright . He eventually walked at 16 months old.. He has no physical problems now at 15 years old so I think it is too early to say he has problems yet though if he is not sitting up in a couple of months that may be more worrying

Two of mine didn't sit unsupported until 7-8 months! They also have sacral dimples but I think that's coincidental.

They were both fairly early/on time walkers though at 11-12 months.

I didn't realise spina bifida was still a thing - doesn't everyone take folic acid now (and it's in things like cereals even if you don't). Sounds highly unlikely to me OP. I can understand why you are worried but please don't.

@cologne4711

I didn't realise spina bifida was still a thing - doesn't everyone take folic acid now (and it's in things like cereals even if you don't). Sounds highly unlikely to me OP. I can understand why you are worried but please don't.

Taking folic acid isn't a total cure

Even if it was, lots of women don't find out they're pregnant til weeks in.

I can help you with this. It's called a sacral dimple and sometimes it causes a Y shape - it did in my first child and hers was particularly deep. Hers wasn't noticed at birth but I notice it after about three weeks. Providing they are covered And have proper skin over them ie they are not open or have an ulcer it's fine. It's actually very common and they believe runs in families. I really panicked at first when she had it. My second child then had the same thing - midwife saw it as soon as I gave birth and said I'm off to get the paediatrician to check - I said give him to me - and said it covered it's not a problem - she then got the paed who confirmed it was fine - another nurse then said my kids have that and then told me about how common it was - it's just most family members won't discuss dimples on their bum lol. The Y shape then disappeared as she grew but the dimple is still there. Hope that puts your mind at rest a bit

I can help you with this. It's called a sacral dimple and sometimes it causes a Y shape - it did in my first child and hers was particularly deep. Hers wasn't noticed at birth but I notice it after about three weeks. Providing they are covered And have proper skin over them ie they are not open or have an ulcer it's fine. It's actually very common and they believe runs in families. I really panicked at first when she had it. My second child then had the same thing - midwife saw it as soon as I gave birth and said I'm off to get the paediatrician to check - I said give him to me - and said it covered it's not a problem - she then got the paed who confirmed it was fine - another nurse then said my kids have that and then told me about how common it was - it's just most family members won't discuss dimples on their bum lol. The Y shape then disappeared as she grew but the dimple is still there. Hope that puts your mind at rest a bit

Having read the thread I see others have told you the same. It can cause a tether on the spine (neither of mine had it) but they just snip it - you look out for that if they start walking on tiptoes. Other than that there's no problems at all

Oh and if it helps they are teenagers now - they were on target with all walking etc. The GP didn't know what it was with the leaders because of the depth it caused the Y shape but the specialist knew straight away. I really wouldn't worry if its closed

OP, you are right to persist. They don't always pick things up. DS2 has kyphotic scoliosis. Although I took him to the GP as a baby to ask about his spine, they just dismissed me as a fussy mother because he had so many other things wrong with him that he was in and out of hospital and GP's surgery for the first few years. He wasn't diagnosed until his early teens!

@Logiclady94 - DC can be so different. My 1st didn't sit up until 7.5 months, crawling 9.5 months and couldn't pull up to standing til 10 months, cruising at 12 months and didn't walk til 15 months. He also wasn't interested in food until 9 months. My 2nd could pull to standing at 4 months, sat up at 5 months, crawling at 6 months, crusing at 7 months and walking at 9 months. She was interested in food straight away at 6 months.

I hope all turns out ok

Really i think the first thing he need is a scan to check if the dimple is closed, this cannot be done by the naked eye

It was clear on both my children that it was closed - neither of them needed a scan although when the second started tiptoeing at 3 he was given a scan to check for a tether however he was just double jointed. The only thing they said to me is that they sometimes scan deep ones as there is a study that says it can indicate kidney issues but the OP shouldn't panicked if she's told no scan is needed

I didn't realise spina bifida was still a thing - doesn't everyone take folic acid now (and it's in things like cereals even if you don't). Sounds highly unlikely to me OP. I can understand why you are worried but please don't.

Of course spina bifida is still "a thing" folic. Acid isn't a cure all. Maybe you should have better knowledge before you dismiss something.

Hi all, thanks for your replies. The doctor called me later on that day to say that they are going to arrange a scan for him just to make sure everything is as it should be. My DD had the dimple but she appears to be okay. She was unplanned and I didn’t take folic acid till I was pregnant.

My DS was planned and I took folic acid before I was even pregnant with him because I wanted to ensure a healthy pregnancy.. after the gallstones and terrible labour with the first pregnancy

Hopefully the scan is soon and you can see where you go from the results if he does have anything then it really wasn't your fault you need to remember that.