Neonatal Cephalhematoma

This is basically a very large bruise found at the top of the head of most newborn human babies, that forms as the baby descends through the birth canal. It may be the result of having to squeeze the head through the female pelvis that is narrow and relative to the size of the fetal head. This collection of blood under the scalp gradually resolves over the first few weeks of life and usually does not cause any kind of problem. However, this feature apparently does not occur in the great apes, perhaps because there is no fetal pelvic disproportion.