Strawberry birth marks - do they really disappear?

[SarahPT]

12 week old DD has a strawberry birthmark On her back
Dr and HV say it will disappear on its own by the time she's about 2
Would be great to hear whether that's true off anyone with experience of this tho??

My ds just turned 2 has one on his tummy. It is smaller in relation to the rest of his stomach which has grown but def still as red as before. I'd heard Its usually faded by about aged 4.

I'm lurking to see if you get any positive replies. my DS is 1 and has a strawberry mark right in the middle of his head and the poor wee thing is practically bald. it would be good if it went away eventually!

DD2 had one on her back as big as a 10p but its hardly noticible now and she will be 3 in nov :)

My friends DS had a huge one covering most of his face. It reduced by about 90% by the time he was 4.

He had some laser treatment before he started school to get rid of the last part. You would not know it had ever been there.

DS is 10 and his (on his back) has 99% gone.

DS1 had one on his finger - quite small - went away around 2.

DS2 has one high on his chest - big enough that a couple of people have asked what it is if he wears short-sleeved body suits. He has just turned 2 and I can see that it's starting to break down and disappear.

I had one on my stomach which disappeared by the time I was 10.

DS2 has one on his back which is really cute and we call it his 'baby mark' which-he-hates

My DD had a big angry looking one on her back at birth. She's 9 now, and its just a dappling of faint pink spots - I expect it will go completely in the next couple of years. So yes, they do fade, but in our experience, not as quickly as the HPs thought.

DS had a large on on his arm and it had all but gone by the time he started school.

DD had one on her collar bone and it's 99.9% gone now. She's 8 but it had more or less gone by age 3yrs.

Don't worry!!

i have one on my side and my daughter has one on the back of her head. I dont think they disappear completely but they do get smaller. Mine is tiny now, it used to stick of my side!

Dd3 was born with a White patch on her stomach which had no pigment and developed into a strawberry Mark over a couple of days, it got quite big and prominent and could be seen through her clothes so I took her to the doctors who said it would disappear and true to their word she is 2 now and it has almost completely gone. It used to be raised but now is a flat pale speckled birthmark that wouldn't be noticed unless you knew it ws there previously.

My dd had one on one of her feet, by the time she was around 1yo it had gone, no trace of it now. My cousin has one at the top of her chest/bottom of neck which I think has reduced in colour/size since she was little but is still there and she is 10. It's in a really prominent place but you don't notice it's there and it doesn't bother her.

All 4 dc's have / had these. DH says I brand them

Ds1's (8) was in the middle of his back just on his spine - was about the size of a £2 coin when he was born. Now faded to a silver scar (but thats cos it got infected as a baby) He calls it his "matrix plug"

DD1 had hers in her hair - about the size of a pea and faded by the time she was 1 (good job too cos she was bald until nearly 2 )

Ds2's appeared at the end of his nose, just inside his nostril and he looked like he had a permenant nosebleed - gone by the time he was 2.

DD2 was the best one - right slap bang in the middle of her forehead between her eyes - about the size of a 20p at its biggest and deep deep red and really raised - she looked like cyclops! Used to attract all sorts of remarks from strangers but by No 4 I was quite chilled in dealing with it! Anyway shes now 2+2 and the colour has faded although its still quite raised but that should go down by the time she starts school.

They do look quite scary and permenant but ime they do fade quite quickly.

50% of them are gone completely by age 5.
They do go though, and on the back it is unlikely to cause problems.

Thanks everyone!

Had just noticed that it had become more raised and angry looking so needed some second opinions !

Thank you all so much

DDs is only pea-sized and just where the back of her nappy reaches so not noticeable but am so glad I posted a thread

T'internet says according to folklore in some countries they are caused by pregnancy cravings that the mother didn't give in to!

That made me smile! There wasn't a pregnancy craving that I didn't give into! I've got the leftover belly to prove it!

Thanks again all

DD1 had one on her eyelid. She was a wee dot of a thing (just in 0-3 month clothes at 4 months) and for those first months it grew quicker than she did. It was like a red pea stuck to her tiny eyelid. True to doctor's word she is 4 and now, apart from a vaguely flabby circle of skin, it's gone. You wouldn't see it if you didn't know it was there, perversely I kind of miss it!

I had three, on my face neck and back. The one on my back you can still see, the one on my neck and face only if I am absolutely huffing and puffing with exertion - they go slightly more red / blotchy than the rest of me. They certainly don't show in photos of me from 2/3 onwards.

I suppose I could have the one on my back layered off but it doesn't bother me at all and is only visible if I take my clothes off in which case I assume people have other things to look at

My daughter had one on her back, was really raised and you could feel it through her clothes she is just 4 now and is a spattering of pink dots, very pale now. It had gone flat and faded 90% by age of 3

DD's strawberry appeared as a tiny dot at three weeks. Right in the middle of her forehead. It then grew rapidly (your LO is probably at this stage at the mo, right, OP?) and became very red, very vivid, and stuck out like a little horn. It grew to about the size of a 10p.

It slowed down then stopped growing at around 8 months. From around 11 months it started to fade. Now at 19mo it is very pale pink, almost skin coloured, with a tiny spot of dark red left. It is smaller too. It still has a bump under it, but I think this has shrunk.

To be honest I am no longer bothered if it disappears completely or not, though it is showing signs that it will, probably before she's three I'd say. And believe me, I was VERY bothered about it at one point. I actually look back at the pics of her with her big red strawberry on her fod and feel sort of wistful for it now. I never thought I'd say that.

The only problem now is five times a day (I'm not kidding) someone bellows 'OH DEAR SOMEBODY'S HAD A NASTY BUMP ON THE HEAD!'

Grrr.

Hope that helps OP.

Our daughter has one the size of a sultana on her cheek. It appeared as two tiny red blood vessels at about 4 days old and since then it's grown and also swelled up. She's not quite 4 months now and it's stopped growing, in fact it sort of looks as though it's getting smaller... as others have said, I'll miss it when it goes! It bothers my OH much more than me. I had a similar mark on my thigh that has all but vanished now (I'm 30). It was obvious until I was about 8 or 9, then it faded pretty fast into a flat pink dotty patch which has now faded to almost nothing. Hope this helps!

Both my sons had them on their faces. DS1's had disappeared by the time he was 2, DS2 still has his (age 3) though it is a lot less pronounced, but goes bright red when he is having a tantrum, I'm sure it will go with time though.

10month ds has one on his head. It has reduced in size a lot and faded from a red colour to a peach colour. It is hardly noticeable now unless you know to look for it. We was told it may grow but that hasn't happened and that it should go by the time he starts school, which looks to be the case.

You're all wonderful !
Thank you so much!