Baby pictures by photographer Kayla Reeder have been going viral — not just because they're cute, but also because they show a common but seldom-discussed condition: cone-shaped heads.
According to Medline, babies' heads often compress on their way out of the vagina, since their skulls are so soft. So, when they're born, their heads may look less like circles and more like ovals. WebMD calls this phenomenon "quite normal," and What To Expect says it's especially common when the baby takes a long time getting out of the birth canal. Fluid and blood might build up in and below the scalp, but this usually goes away in a matter of days, and the baby's fine.
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That was the case with Graham, who was photographed by Reeder after his mom Nikki pushed for an hour. "I’ve seen several babies with 'cone heads' or more prominent molding due to being in the birth canal longer than others," Reeder told The Huffington Post. "Graham’s head was more dramatic immediately after his birth than others' but it went down so quick that you wouldn’t even have noticed unless you saw the images."
According to a post on Reeder's Instagram showing one of the photos, Instagram initially removed it. "Posting this one again. Because apparently it breaks @instagram 's guidelines," she wrote. "If this offends you UNFOLLOW ME. It's simple or KEEP SCROLLING.
#stopcensoringmotherhood#stopcensoringbirth #birth #birthisbeautiful#thisisbirth."
#stopcensoringmotherhood#stopcensoringbirth #birth #birthisbeautiful#thisisbirth."
The family wasn't bothered by Graham's appearance at all, though. "Once that euphoria wore down, there were of course comments of how sweet his little cone head was, and we knew why it took so long for Nikki to push him out," said Reeder. As is often the case, his head ended up less cone-shaped after several days.
"I hope people see these images of Graham and see how amazing birth is," Reeder told The Huffington Post. "Birth isn’t gross or taboo but beautiful and worth celebrating."