Question

With regard to skeletal injuries sustained by a neonate during labor or birth, nurses should be aware that:

a. A newborn's skull is still forming and fractures fairly easily.
b. Unless a blood vessel is involved, linear skull fractures heal without special treatment.
c. Clavicle fractures often need to be set with an inserted pin for stability.
d. Other than the skull, the most common skeletal injuries are to leg bones.

Answer 1

Newborns have a flexible skull due to fontanelles, which allow the baby's head to adapt during birth. Linear skull fractures typically heal naturally, while clavicle fractures, which are more common than leg fractures, seldom require surgical pins for healing.

Step-by-step explanation:

With regard to skeletal injuries sustained by a neonate during labor or birth, it is important to consider several factors. As the question indicates, a newborn's skull is still forming and is characterized by several areas of fibrous connective tissue, known as fontanelles. These fontanelles provide the flexibility needed during birth for the baby's head to pass through the birth canal. As such, the skull does fracture fairly easily due to the lack of complete ossification.

Indeed, linear skull fractures in newborns typically heal without the need for special treatment, providing no blood vessel is involved, because the newborn's skull is still growing and has a high capacity for regeneration. On the contrary, clavicle fractures, which are more common than fracture to leg bones in neonates, usually heal without the need for pins or other surgical interventions. The clavicle, or collarbone, is a bone that can sustain fractures during birth, but it generally has an excellent capacity for natural healing in neonates.