Hi Rebbecca,

I don't have a study, but one of the worst cases I ever had was a baby with severe cephalohematoma and no suck.  It was when I was a fairly new LC and I had been trying to help this mom by phone for a few days.  We finally set up a home visit and I found myself holding a skinny, almost limp baby with no discernable suck.  I drove them to the doctor's office a few minutes away and from there the baby was admitted directly to the hospital.  A CAT scan revealed pressure on the brain from the bruising which eventually resolved with no permanent damage.  It was really scary and taught me the value of home visits - what mom was telling me was definitely not what was going on.  This was her first, she was alone and clueless, but grateful to me for getting her baby the help he needed.  Unfortunately, she never did breastfeed the baby, but that is another story.

Common sense says that at the very least, a baby with cephalohematoma will have a bad headache which may interfere with his ability to breastfeed with enthusiasm.  At the very worst, there is enough swelling to actually impact brain function which of course, may also impact suck. I'll bet that most LCs that have been around for a while will have a story or two about babies in this situation.




Warmly,
Sharon Knorr, BSMT, ASCP, IBCLC
Newark, NY (near Rochester on Lake Ontario)
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