It is often common to see birth marks and pigmentation on the skin of new born babies or shortly after they are born. These birth marks could be those that are hardly noticeable or those that are very prominent and disfiguring. Birthmarks are either raised or flat, and they may come with varying shades of colours such as black, pink, red , tan, pale blue, brown , and black. Red birthmarks, Pigmentation birthmarks, and Vascular birthmarks are the three main types of birthmarks common in new born babies. Most birthmark occurrences are harmless and may fade away from the skin overtime while few of such are related to any serious health problems.
Birthmarks can be prevent but the actual cause remain skeptical but it is believed that it could have resulted from a number of factors such as some medications taken during pregnancy, and improper diet. Some birthmarks could be inherited and mostly they are not related to any trauma suffered during child birth labour.
Though , there are three two types of birthmarks, however two are most prominent and these are; Vascular birthmarks, and Pigmented birthmarks. Vascular birthmarks are also referred to as Blood vessel-induced birthmarks which occur when the blood vessels do not form correctly, the blood vessels are either too many or are wider than usual. Pigmentation birthmarks result from the overgrowth pt the cells that produce pigments in the baby.
The commonest vascular birthmarks include; Port-wine strains Hemangiomas, and macular strains. The macular strains are also referred to as angel kisses and salmon patches. These are the commonest types of Vascular birthmarks that occur on the fore head, eye lids, nose, upper lip, and behind the neck. These types of birthmarks fade away naturally especially when the child has grown to between 1-2 years of age.
Pot-wine stains are vascular birthmarks which appear as a discolouration / pigmentation that often resembles a wine stain. These kinds of stains tend to grow as the child grow and may become darken when the child gets to adulthood. These birthmarks do not go on their own and when they appear near the eye, they must be carefully examined for possible eye complications.
The commonest types of pigmentation birthmarks are Mongolian spots, moles, and café-au-lait spots. The café-au-lait spots are birthmarks that have the colour of milk . These birthmarks can appear anywhere in the body and tend to get bigger as the child matures. Mongolian spots often appear at the back and near the buttocks, they usually fade after some years without treatment. Moles are birthmarks are brown patches which may develop at part of the body. They are the most dangerous kinds of pigmentation birthmarks which may develop into skin cancer when not treated.
Skin Pigmentation Further Reading: