Head circ at 98th centile @ 7 wks - anyone else?

[mrsbean78]

Hi,
At baby clinic today was told that baby's head is at 98th centile (so meeting criteria for macrocephaly). His weight is 25th and length 75th.

I am trying not to be too concerned - he is doing everything a baby of his age should and more: lovely social smile, cooing and gurgling very communicatively, good tracking, reflexes etc and GP says he 'handles well' and his fontanelle is normal. In addition, dh's family all struggle to fit into regular hats, so must have large heads.

However, it's hard not to worry given that macrocephaly is associated with such a range of serious illnesses and delays.

Anyone experience this? I've read maybe he could just grow into his head.

Hello,
My son has always had a big head!
He is 2 yrs 2 months now and is well over the top of the centile charts.
I did worry about it but he's on target for every developmental stage.
My DH has a big head, I've got a big head, so I guess it was inevitable!
Try not to worry - just keep an eye on him, like you would do anyway!

DD had this, we had to see a paediatrician, but they said she was perfect and normal I have a biggish head so sure it is just genetic

hmm well i don;'t know because my children only ever had their head measured at birth, but all of them had massive heads at that point!!!

i have to buy huge hats for them too

My daughter is 18 - she was in the 98th centile for the first year - I remember 'cos it was a new measure and I didn't understand except she had a big head and I already knew that - I had stitches to prove it! She is an excellent all rounder, very academic and loads of friends plus even tempered. Do not worry!

If DH's family all have big heads then seriously don't worry about it; it's almost definitely just a genetic thing. DS1 had a massive head at that age too (99th I think) and is a very happy, successful, bright perfectly normal nearly-17yo. In his case it was genetic too as me and my dad both have big heads (neither of us can wear the hats that come out of Christmas crackers as they are too small ). I know the clinic have to mention the risks to you but I do think they worry a lot of people unnecesarily.

From answers.com's Child Health Encyclopedia;
"In some cases, a child may have benign macrocephaly. In these children, the only abnormality is an enlarged head. Usually there are other family members with large heads, and the condition is considered a family trait. These children do not have an underlying condition and usually do not have any additional complications."

My dc's heads are huge! ds1 is 6 and has to have an adult hat

My DS is 8 and wears my DH's hats - and he is not small! (my DH that is )

Again genetic, as I have the same problem with hats form crackers, brummiemummie!

Don't worry, OP, some kids just have large heads - I think some paeds just have nothing better to do than worry parents. My DS had a medical at school recently and the doctor commented on his cafe au lait birthmarks, saying they are linked to heart disease!

My DS has very similar measurements to yours Mrs B: 25th centile for weight, 75th for height and 95th for head size. GP measured his head at his 8 week check up and mentioned that it was big but nothing to worry about. It's where he keeps big brain, she joked. He's perfectly normal in every respect (as far as a I know!). He's 13 weeks now.

Let me tell you a funny story about this.

DS was born with a MASSIVE head. They reckon now that it's the reason he turned the wrong way around at the last minute and I needed a section - he just couldn't fit his head down here!

Anyway, all was well until almost a week post-birth when a different midwife came to see us at home. She measured his head and freaked out - it was huge and I had to whisk him off to A&E RIGHT NOW!! This was my first day at home with DS on my own, I called DH up in fits and he had to come home to take us to the hospital. We were imagining brain bleeds, etc, etc. We get there and the nurses actually laughed at us and couldn't understand why in the world we were sent there.

The doctor took a look and said that, yes, he did indeed have a massive head and she wanted to measure us to see if it was genetic. So, she takes me and DH's head circumferences and plots them against height. We are both about 5,10". DH's head was so big that he came up in the 90th percentile.

My head is so ridiculously big that IT DOESN'T PLOT ON THE GRAPH!

So there you go. Moral of the tale is, as long as your LO is fine developmentally, don't worry abut it. My DS still has a massive head for his body and very prominent forehead (bless the poor little freak ) He needs a 2-3yr hat and we have also noticed that he has large feet too - size 5 already! Good thing to be aware of for next time around though - I won't even think about a natural breech delivery ( like they wanted me to with DS - can you imagine!!)

DS3 is 10 weeks and on the 98th from birth. Also 91st for length but only between 25th and 50th for weight.

DS1 and 2 were the same - macroencephaly never mentioned, some people just have big heads and the fact it is on the centiles rather than outside them suggests it's normal. But big normal .

We went to get ds a crash helmet for his cycle at 2.3ys. Picked a packaged helmet up in Halfords, found an assistant and asked whether the fit could be checked. All packaging removed. Put on ds's head (- or should I say perched ), taken off, let out, try again, taken off let out, try again... got paper tape meausure - said that ds was on the top side of normal 'child' sizes and suggested getting an adult helmet - ended up with an adult medium. For a 2.3yo ffs. And now at 4.5 he's in a size 12 shoe and apparently most makers don't 'do' children's slippers in that size . Mind you, he's inherited that from me - my hats swamp dh!

Hi! Hoping someone can help/reassure. Just had a scan today and these are the baby’s measurements. Really concerned that the head is so much bigger than the legs/arms. Currently 33 weeks - has anyone had similar measurements and it’s all been fine?