Vernix on Newborns

Vernix is a white and thick substance that has the texture of wax and covers a newborn baby from head to toes. The vernix that baby’s have all over their body is a mixture of cells that have removed from the exterior layers of the baby’s skin and from the wastes of the amniotic liquid. Different experts have different theories about this substance. Some believe that vernix works as a protective layer to shield the fetus’s delicate skin from the dryness that it could cause from living in the amniotic liquid. Others believe that the vernix serves as a lubricant to help the baby come out of the birth canal. There are some babies that are born with a lot of vernix on them while there are others that are only born with a little bit, and yet others that are not born with it at all. The amount a baby has on his or her body is not really significant.

No matter what the baby looks like at first, almost all of the vernix on the baby’s body will disappear almost right away when the nurse cleans the baby off. If there is still any left on the baby’s body, it will surely disappear within the next day.

Caput and Molding
The name caput comes from the term Caput succedaneum and it refers to a circular area of swelling on the baby’s head that is located in the place from which the baby pushed to come out of the cervix during the delivery. The exact place of the swelling varies, depending on the position the baby’s head was in. the swelling can also vary in size, that is sometimes only a few millimeters in diameter up to several centimeters. The caput generally disappears and goes away after twenty four to forty eight hours after birth.

Babies that are born headfirst sometimes suffer from something called molding. Molding happens throughout the delivery, as the baby goes down the birth canal, the baby’s head starts to fit to make space. In fact the doctor may even tell you that he or she can feel the baby’s head molding in the birth canal even before the baby is born. This process does not cause any damage to the baby. Remember that the bones and tissue of the baby are very soft and have been specifically designed to be this way. The result is that often babies are born with a cone shaped head. This shape generally disappears around twenty-four hours after the baby is born and the head then turns into a round smooth shape.

There are some women, mainly those that have already had babies or those who have had quick deliveries that have babies that do not end up with this shape in their heads. Besides this, babies that are born in a sitting position or that are born by cesarean do not have this either.

On occasions as the baby goes through the birth canal, the babies ears also bend in a strange way. there are occasions in which the same can occur to the baby’s nose making the baby’s nose look somewhat bent but these characteristics are not an indicator that you need to run out and look for a plastic surgeon to fix the problem. These are temporary peculiarities and they disappear after a few days, so don’t worry about it.