Your baby's head size and head control give important clues to her health and development. Your baby's doctor will measure her head circumference from birth until 36 months and compare the results in relation to other babies on a growth chart. While your baby's head may be smaller than that of other babies, or she may reach some milestones slower than others, the key is that she continues to grow physically and develop mentally.
Timeline
When your baby is born, he cannot support his head. In the first month, he lifts his head momentarily and turns his head side to side when he's on his back. Within two to three months, he lifts his head almost 45 degrees while on his stomach and looks straight ahead while on his back. From age 4 to 6 months, he gains better head control. At 5 months, he holds his head up when sitting and raises his head up when lying face down. By 6 months, he lifts his head when he's pulled to a sitting position.
Shape
Your baby's head may change shape over time. Your baby is born with two soft spots, called fontanels, which allow her head to pass through the birth canal. The fontanels also accommodate your baby's growing brain, cites MayoClinic.com. The fontanels can become misshapen during birth or from your baby spending too much time in one position, resulting in flat spots. Most heads even out over time.
Support
Just as your newborn needs you to support his head when you hold him, he needs your support to help his head shape evenly. Alternate his sleeping positions, but always keep him on his back to help prevent sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS. Put him to sleep at different ends of the crib, or with his head facing different directions. Relieve the pressure on your baby's head by holding him frequently and closely supervising his "tummy time."
Problems
Failure to meet milestones by the timeline does not always indicate a problem, but you should discuss your baby's progress with her doctor. You should notice marked improvement in head control from birth to 3 months and from 3 months to 6 months.
If your baby's lopsided head hasn't shown improvement by 3 months, she may need to wear a special helmet or headband. According to MayoClinic.com, these head devices apply gentle, but constant pressure to reshape the head. These reshaping devices work best when a baby is 4 to 6 months old and wears the device for 12 weeks.
Craniosynostosis, when two or more of the bony plates in a baby's head fuse prematurely, also causes a misshapen head, but this condition is very rare, according to MayoClinic.com. Doctors treat the condition by surgically removing the fused bones so the brain can grow properly.
Intelligence
Your newborn's head circumference may indicate later intelligence. Doctors at the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Resource Centre at the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom studied 633 term-born children from birth to age 8. The study team, led by C. R. Gale, regularly measured head circumference and compared these measurements to the children's IQ scores at ages 4 and 8. Prenatal and newborn head circumference growth affected subsequent intelligence at age 4, but not at age 8. The report, which appeared in "Pediatrics" in October 2006, concluded that the brain volume a child achieves in his first year helps determine later intelligence.
