Baby Health

How Baby Birthmarks Are Formed And How to Treat Them?

Are Baby Birthmarks Formed Naturally?

Baby Birthmarks are common and they get visible within the first two or three weeks of the baby’s birth. These marks can appear like discoloration of the skin and most of the birthmarks are noncancerous.

Birthmarks can appear anywhere on your baby’s body parts or face. The size, color, shape, and appearance of birthmarks can vary. Some of these moles are permanent whereas some fade away with the baby’s growth.  

Parents should not worry about such marks on the baby’s skin because most of such skin spots are harmless. However, some birthmarks can be a sign of underlying health issues. Parents can contact a professional to remove such marks for cosmetic reasons.

If your baby got one or more birthmarks, you can take your baby to a cosmetic surgeon to remove it. Before you meet the surgeon, let’s find out some important facts about birthmarks.

How Do Birthmarks Form?

You want your baby to be cute, healthy, and happy. All the parents hope that their child will get cuter with time. Birthmarks do not fulfill what most of the parents want. Some birthmarks appear on the baby’s face, which reduce their visual charm.

About 10% of all babies are born with some sort of birthmarks, but how do they form? Four factors are responsible for occurrence of birthmarks, which are as follows:

1. Environmental pollution

Birthmarks can occur due to environmental pollution. Human body reacts differently when it first comes in contact with the environment. Therefore, some babies get birthmarks during the first few weeks of their life.

Some babies also have birthmarks on their skin due to excess production of oil. Their sebaceous glands produce too much oil which causes blemishes on baby’s skin. This overproduction occurs mainly due to hormonal changes. Dead skin cells and overproduced oil mingle with bacteria and dirt. Consequently, pustules, pimples, whiteheads, and blackheads form. These skin issues can turn into marks on the baby’s delicate skin!

Moms should also avoid the use of cosmetic products, which can clog skin pores. Choose noncomedogenic products to ensure there won’t be any blemishes on your baby’s skin. Keep your baby’s room clean all the time. Keep your baby away from pollutants such as car exhaust, dirt, dust, and toxins to prevent birthmarks.  

2. Living environment

Dirty environment and unhealthy habits can also affect the baby’s appearance. Some personal lifestyle habits are also responsible for birthmarks. Long and irregular eating habits can be responsible for altering the baby’s appearance. It can also affect the baby’s health if parents do not follow a proper routine.

Skin experts believe the food baby gets can also have a major impact on his skin. Some babies are allergic to certain types of foods. The baby can experience bumps and skin problems due to consuming allergic food.

Parents start providing complementary diet to the baby as he gets six months old or older. Dairy products and other complementary meals can cause skin problems in some babies. Babies get all the nutrients from the mother’s milk. Therefore, parents should avoid other foods before six months age. It can also work to prevent skin blemishes and birthmarks.

Your baby will develop regular eating habit within a few weeks. Prevent his overeating habits. Let your baby snooze as long as he wants to comfort him and prevent health problems. Clean living environment and good diet can play a crucial role in improving the baby’s appearance.

3. Genetic factors

Many researchers believe chromosomal mutation can be reflected on the baby’s skin. Kids can inherit it from their parents and it will appear as a birthmark. It is quite rare for babies to inherit birthmarks from their parents, but there are some instances!

Gene mutations are considered responsible for genetic birthmarks. Many babies have born with port-wine stains. It is quite a rare condition known as Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome. Genetic mutation causes this condition and babies do not inherit it from their parents.

The Sturge-Weber syndrome is another condition that can cause birthmarks and skin blemishes. Suppose you have this condition, your kids won’t inherit it from you. It can occur naturally in babies and some people believe it is a genetic issue in the family.  

4. Malnutrition

Every baby needs a daily supply of essential nutrients, such as copper, zinc, magnesium, calcium, and phenylalanine. The lack of nutrients can affect the biochemical process responsible for pigment synthesis. This issue can cause an abnormal growth in pigment cells.

These cells can spread across the epidermis layer of the skin and create birthmarks or skin blemishes. Therefore, parents should take care of the baby’s regular diet. Take your baby for regular health checkup to ensure he is well-fed and healthy.

Is There A Fixed Spot On Body Where Birthmarks Occur?

It is not certain that where the birthmark will appear on the baby’s skin. It can appear anywhere on the entire body. Different babies and adults can have birthmarks on different body organs. Some common birthmarks and their locations are as follows:

1. Stork bite pattern birthmarks

These birthmarks appear like red or pink patches on the neck, eyelids, over the upper lip, and between the eyes. There is a myth regarding such skin marks. People used to believe the stork might have picked up your baby due to which the mark appeared.

It is a nice story to scare kids, but there is a scientific reason behind such marks. Most of the babies experience stork-bite pattern birthmarks due to the expansion of blood vessels. These birthmarks disappear within one or two years.

Immature concentration of blood vessels can also cause such birthmarks. Parents should not worry about the baby’s health if they spot such a skin abnormality. It will disappear within a year.

2. Port-wine stains

This birthmark appears pink, flat, purple, or red in color. It may sometimes look like reddish rash on the back of the neck. It can also appear on the forehead, between the eyes, and also on the eyelids. This type’s birthmarks disappear gradually as the baby grows older.

Port-wine stain birthmarks mainly occur due to the concentration of dilated blood vessels, which are known as capillaries. These maternal spots mostly occur on the neck or head. These can be small in shape or cover a large area, depending on the concentration of blood vessels.

Whether your baby got red, pink, or purple color port-wine stains, this color won’t change. Skin blemishes will fade away as the baby gets older. These are harmless if appear on the neck. However, it can be a sign of a serious health issue if port-wine stains appear on the baby’s face.  

Suppose this type’s birthmark does not fade away with time, you can opt for laser treatment to remove it. Expert surgeons will remove it without causing any risk to your kid’s health.

3. Mongolian spots

Many people are born with birthmarks distinguished as Mongolian spots. These spots occur on the waist or hips. These birthmarks may look light blue, blue-black, or blue-gray. Many kids look like they got bruise. These birthmarks can disappear with age or last much longer in some babies.  

This kind of birthmarks occurs mainly in babies with darker skin. Such skin blemishes occur mainly due to concentration of pigmented cells in the affected region. If your baby got such birthmarks, he does not need any treatment. This birthmark will disappear within 4-5 years of age.

4. Strawberry Hemangioma

This strawberry-like birthmark looks like soft lump on the skin. It may appear soft-red or dark red on the scalp, face, chest, or back. This type of birthmarks does not disappear automatically and it is not harmful for the baby’s health.

Strawberry Hemangioma birthmarks are formed when immature blood vessels concentrate below skin. Most of the babies have this birthmark on their head. It won’t be visible at the time of birth. Most of the babies get this birthmark during the first two months of their life.

Most of the babies get this birthmark are girls. It can grow in size and then it will start to fade. This birthmark will disappear within 9-10 years and the baby will be fine.

5. Coffee spots

This type of birthmarks appears on baby’s legs, buttocks, and trunk. It can get bigger and darker as the baby grows. Even though this birthmark does not pose any health threat, it can look ugly on the face. Therefore, many parents decide to get rid of this birthmark for cosmetic purpose.

6. Congenital pigmented nerves

These are irregularly shaped skin blemishes. They are tiny in size, but some large ones can spread across the back, legs, or neck of the baby. This type’s birthmarks can be a sign of the underlying skin problem. Therefore, you should take your baby to the doctor to ensure your baby is fine.

Conclusion

Many babies get birthmarks and those birthmarks disappear as the baby grows older. Parents should not worry about most types of birthmarks. However, certain birthmarks can be a sign of health problems. Take your baby to the pediatric doctor or a skin surgeon to diagnose the health issue and treat it.


Elena

Elena’s inspiration for joining BabyStuffLab is her lovely kid. She spends a lot of time reviewing baby stuff and baby care. She hopes every kid can have perfect parents and childhood.

View Comments

  • Hello Elena,
    I'm a 62 year old female & the middle child of 3 siblings. I was born in 1959, my sister was born 15 months before me in 1958 & I have a brother born in 1963. We just recently lost our mom in 2016 and dad shortly thereafter in 2017. I am the only one with a birthmark that we know about. From what I've read on birthmarks thus far I diagnosed the type I have as Port-Wine staines.

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