# what could cause large head, delays in 9 month old?



## mamaley (Mar 18, 2002)

my friend's baby is having a CT scan because doctor said his head is over the 100 percentile and there are some developmental delays. he said that probably everything is fine, but want to check it out. does anyone know what he might be looking for?


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## khrisday (Mar 18, 2002)

http://www.macrocephaly-cmtc.com/thecondition.htm

http://www.medfriendly.com/macrocephaly.html

I hope those help


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## mamaley (Mar 18, 2002)

thanks for the quick reply. i'll check those out


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## saganaga (Nov 23, 2001)

Just wondering if more parents might be able to help you out in the Special Needs Parenting board...


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## srmina (Sep 10, 2004)

The most likely things they would be looking for would be hydrocephalus (water on the brain) or growths (cysts, tumors). Some kids also just have big heads because of genetics.


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## PikkuMyy (Mar 26, 2004)

There is also a link, for some, between autism and large heads. My student has an extremely large head for his body. But obviously it could be many things. Keep us posted!


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## Casual Storm (Apr 9, 2003)

Sometimes it isn't the fact that the head is large, but the rate it grew since birth. My son's head was in the 30 % at birth, full term, and his body and weight was in the 50 %. By the time he was 9 months old, his head was in the 97% and his body/weight still remained in the 50%. So, the fact that his head was not growing along a growth curve did raise concerns. Our ped wanted us to get a CT or MRI, but we sought a second opinion from a neurosurgeon who deals with large heads all the time and he said an ultrasound was just fine for an initial screening. Fortunately, the ultrasound was normal. However, around this time, a study was published in JAMA that showed a correlation between accelerated head growth during the first year of birth and autism. The sample was small, so it wil have to be replicated with larger populations. We kept a close eye on ds, and it looks like he will be fine (knock on wood). However, our ds did not have any significant delays either.

If your friend is nervous about having her baby put under general anesthesia, which they will have to do for a MRI or CT, she should ask if an ultrasound could be performed first instead. It takes 5 minutes and the baby doesn't have to be sedated at all.

The neurosurgeon lamented that peds tend to be too paranoid about big heads. He measured my head and my dh's head, and showed us our heads were large, so it is likely just genetics playing a role. However, since your friend's baby does have delays, she should follow through with at least an ultrasound.

The previous posters were correct with hydrocephalus or cysts being potential culprits the ped wants to check out.

edited to add: if the baby was born with a large head and it followed a growth curve since then, that is a good sign everything is probably ok, but it is still well worth checking especially because of the delays.


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## AllyRae (Dec 10, 2003)

It could be nothing too... Brandon's head went from the 20th percentile to the 50th percentile, to the 75th percentile to the 90th percentile, and now it's in the 99th percentile. The docs aren't concerned at all...he just has a fast growing head I guess.


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## Red (Feb 6, 2002)

I can't swear to this, but I would think they would know if a 9 month old had hydrocephalis. Could you get by that long without them knowing?

My 16 yo had delays and a big head. I have a big head, so does my DH. The pedi measured us, said we were fine. Her delays had nothing to do with her head size.

I'd be concerned with having these tests done unless they were absolutely necessary. Tell your friend not to feel uncomfortable questioning the docs judgement, so many people do. Remember, _he_ works for YOU.

Best of luck to your friend!


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## Mamatohaleybug (Sep 3, 2004)

Any news? Did they find anything???


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## mamaley (Mar 18, 2002)

everything is ok







thanks for asking


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