One of the many joys of being a new parent is getting to know your little one! After all, you’re meeting them for the first time and are discovering how their nose crinkles when they sneeze or that they have cute little dimples when they give you a cheeky smile. One of the many features that may make your baby particularly unique are birth marks.

Birth marks can be either:

Vascular - meaning containing extra blood vessels that didn’t form fully, or
Pigmented - that is spots of skin with a little extra color.

Some common birthmarks include:

*Courtesy of Kalman Watsky, MD.* © 2022 UpToDate, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.

Congenital moles:
- Your typical mole, that can increase in size as your child grows up, but usually doesn’t cause any problems.
- Moles can increase in size as your baby grows up, but usually doesn’t cause any problems. The can be present at birth or appear during the first year of life.
- A mole that is present as birth is called a congenital nevus and will last a lifetime.
- Most of them are brown, but they may also have shades of pink, red, or black. Some may have bumps or hair and others may become rough or raised. A mole usually grows larger as your child grows, but not that quickly. Depending on their size, whether they are large or even giant for instance, may pose a higher risk for a type of skin cancer known as melanoma.
  Remember, sun protection for your child is important - especially for children with moles.
- Your pediatrician may want to watch them closely to watch out for cancerous moles though.

Stork bites, angel kisses, or salmon patches:
- Small pink or red patches often found on a baby’s eyelids, between the eyes, upper lip, or back of the neck. Most of these usually fade and disappear completely!
- The name “stork bite” actually comes from the marks on the back of the neck, where according to myth, a stork may have picked up the baby.
- Nevus simplex are caused by a concentration of small, red blood vessels, known as capillaries that may be most visible when the baby is crying! So don’t be alarmed if the birthmark gets darker when your baby is excited or upset - that’s totally normal!
- Most of these birthmarks usually fade and disappear completely on their own by the time your baby is a toddler! They are typically totally harmless and do not require treatment.
- If you find them in an usual spot though or are concerned, contact your pediatrician.

*Courtesy of the Yale Dermatology Residents' Slide Collection.* © 2022 UpToDate, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.

Slate gray nevi (or congenital dermal melanocytosis):
- Some of us may have remember growing up with areas of blue or purple-colored skin on our lower back or buttocks - this is known as a slate grey nevus or congenital dermal melanocytosis and is more common in darker-skinned babies.
- Slate grey nevi are the most common birthmarks in babies with highly pigmented skin and are seen in 85% of Asians, 96% of African American and 46% of Hispanic babies at birth.
- Usually they are located on the lower back and bottom, but some babies may also have spots on different areas of the body. Their size can vary and these birthmarks may be a mix of colors, including brown, gray, but and black, which can come from having different concentrations of pigmented cells in different layers of the skin.
- Slate grey nevi are totally harmless and do not require treatment. In fact, by 4 years of age they usually disappear.
- When these birthmarks do appear on the face or shoulder, they may be permanent, but can respond to laser treatment.

Strawberry hemangioma:
- Bright or dark red, raised or swollen, bumpy areas that can look like a strawberry. Most of them occur on the head and can often develop in the first 2 months of life. They can grow in size for a while and then gradually fade until they are totally gone by 9 years of age.
- Strawberry hemangiomas are named for their bright red color - they are benign growths that are made up of extra blood vessels in the skin. If they are close to the surface of the skin, they may look lighter red in appearance. But they may also be deeper, in which case they may look blue or purple - kind of like bruises.
  - Even though they can be anywhere on the body, most strawberry hemangiomas occur on the head or neck.
  - They may not be present at birth, but can often develop in the first 2 months of life.
  - They typically grow pretty quickly in the first 6 months of life and then gradually shrink and fade and disappear by the time your child is 5-10 years old.
  - Sometimes, they may leave behind a little abnormal skin if they were particularly large to begin with - but surgery can help fix this!
- Interestingly, these types of birthmarks are more common in premature babies and in girls.
- Some hemangiomas can be associated with certain health problems and may interfere with sight, feeding, breathing, or other bodily functions and may require testing or treatments. In rare cases, these birthmarks may bleed and get infected. But luckily, safe treatment options like surgery or lasers are readily available today for problematic hemangiomas.
- If you are concerned your baby may have a strawberry hemangioma, talk to your pediatrician to get evaluated!

Port-wine stains:
- Port wine stains are fairly common birthmarks and are usually seen in about 3 out of every 1000 children.
- They can look similar to stork bites, but are usually much larger and may affect more areas of the face and body. Port wine stains are usually flat, pink, red, or purple colored birthmarks that typically occur on the head or neck. They can be small or large and don’t change color when you press on them.
- Unlike some other birthmarks, these don’t disappear over time and can get darker and thicker as your child gets older.
- For the most part, port wine stains aren’t usually linked to any health problems, but when they are present on the face, like the eyelids or forehead, they can be associated with more serious problems.
  - A rare condition associated with port wine stains is called Sturge-Weber syndrome, which carries an increased risk of glaucoma (a condition that can lead to increased eye pressure) or seizures (because of an abnormality of blood vessels in the lining covering the brain).
    - But this risk is typically highest in babies with port wine stains covering half of the face or more.
- For some kids, their port wine stains may make them a little self-conscious.
  - Laser treatment may be able to help lighten the birthmark somewhat and can help prevent any darkening/thickening down the line. However, in most cases, it may not be possible to completely erase it. But these birthmarks are just another reminder of how unique and special your child is!

Usually most birthmarks are harmless and don’t require any treatment.

But some should be examined by your pediatrician, particularly if they are:

Large birthmarks on the face, head or neck.
In the middle of the back, along the spine.
Interfering with movement of activity, like a birthmark on the eyelid that interferes with vision.

Birthmarks make us all just that much more special and we should celebrate our children’s uniqueness - always!

Your PediPals

Everything you wanted to know about birthmarks!

Some common birthmarks include:

Sounds that are NORMAL in newborns