The fontanel is the soft spot on the top of a newborn baby's head. This is where the bones of his skull have still not formed completely. Normally it takes a year and a half for the soft spot to close completely.
Mothers in different lands realize that when the soft spot sinks inward, their babies are in danger. They have many believes to explain this. In parts of Africa, mothers think the baby's brains have slipped downward. They try to correct this by pushing up on the roof of the mouth, by herbal remedies or by holding the baby upside down and slapping his feet. This does not help because a sunken soft spot is really caused by dehydration.
This means the child is loosing more liquid than he is drinking. He is too dry because he has diarrhea, or diarrhea with vomiting.
To do away with this, give the child plenty of liquid. Re-hydration drink, breast milk or boiled water or if necessary, teat the causes of the diarrhea and vomiting. Usually, no medicine is needed.www.childhealth.comsoftspot on a child
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