Hi, I just wanted to reply b/c I have a large white birthmark on my leg (near my crotch). It sort of grew as I did, it's probably the size of my fist. I'm pretty pale, so it's not very noticable.

I just wanted to give you a little reassurance that there is probably nothing wrong w/ your lo!

 

I know two women who have white patches on their heads, and white hair where the patch is. I don't think it's all that uncommon and I wouldn't worry unless it grows a lot or the skin seems different other than being pale. I would ask at the 6 week appt, though.

I have a triangle on my lower chest/abdomen that tends to not tan, even when I was little - really odd, but I never thought much about it.

 

I had a chain of white spots that went 3/4 of the way around my waist when I was born. As I grew, the spots faded. In my early teens, I just had a small chain of spots remaining, ranging from pinprick size to about the size of a quarter. I have none now.

 

DD has a little white circle on her side. Kinda shiny like a flat scar. Don't know what it is, but she's as healthy as a horse

Actually, when I first noticed, I thought it was a scar from *something* done at the hospital. Never saw a scratch on her, though... so i think birthmark

 

My oldest ds has a little white birth mark on his inner thigh. He calls it his nipple

 

DS1 has a light patch on one side of his little bum crack, it's just about the size of my thumb print...I think it's kinda cute

I've never worried about it, I just figured that it had less pigment than the rest of his skin for some reason.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by veganone I know two women who have white patches on their heads, and white hair where the patch is.

This is my ds3 exactly! He has a large patch on the right side of his head, right near the front. Should look pretty...umm...interesting once his hair really starts to come in! Never thought to ask/mention it to the dr. I feel it's very noticeable, but only a few people have commented on it.

 

DD2 has a pale "splotch" on the side of her neck. I asked the ped about it and she said it's totally normal and not to worry about it. Ask your care provider about it, but I bet it's fine!

 

thank you everyone for your responses.

i added some pictures of this mark into the original post. i am hoping maybe someone has seen a similar mark and can give me some insight into what it could be and if it is something to be concerned about.

i did call the pediatrician and asked to have her appointment moved up to this thursday morning. but in the meantime...i am worried!

 

Ok, so I have a reply that won't freak you out.

My husband has a white birth mark (hasn't changed over the years) on his thigh. It is only about the size of a quarter so perhaps different but, it has posed no medical issues nor is it connected to any sort of disorder, condition, or illness.

I have a dark birthmark on my arm. Two joined shapes each about the size of a marble... oddly shaped as you described your daughter having. It has stayed the same size, and hasn't posed any problems.

Our daughter has a white birthmark on her shoulder about the size of a dime and a long dark birthmark on her back about the width of a pencil and 1.5 inches long. This makes me think the type of birthmarks are passed down genetically. Although some birthmarks, light and dark, can be a sign of underlying medical issues I think most are still JUST birthmarks. Our daughter's birthmarks became more apparent around a few months old but, haven't changed much since. The dark one becomes darker as she tans in the summer while the white one stands out more because of tan skin around it.

So let us be an example of healthy, boring ol' birthmarks that mean nothing. If you are worried have a doc take a peek. After seeing what they say bring up what your have researched and ask their opinions about it.

 

I have a birthmark that looks just like that on my thigh too - it's white and irregular shaped and incidentally, doesn't tan when the rest of me does.

 

I don't know a lot about them, but my ex had long black hair and one white streak in it. He told me that he was born with a white birth mark on his head and the hair there grows out white. It's never given him any trouble. I'm not a doctor, but I think it's just a spot of skin that lacks melanin-producing cells. I'd definitely call the pediatrician and see what he/she thinks.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by AppleBlossomBaby I tried googling white birthmarks and read about a condition called tuberous sclerosis, which has me pretty freaked out...but I was able to find very little info about white birthmarks themselves...only bigger diseases which they could be a sign of.

Mothers of newborns should NOT consult Dr. Google!

I do believe that I once diagnosed ds with Rocky Mountain Spotted fever and leukemia all in one evening. (He had neither

).

 

My 11 yo girl had a big white birthmark across the bottom of her back as a baby/small girl and now it's barely there-but similar to your little one's. It's barely there, now.

 

i agree with the others. it's just a birthmark. my ex has one on his head that he didn't realize was there until he went to basic and got his head shaved.

But instead of his dark brown hair growing there, there's a few white hairs. It's just a weird thing abotu him.

 

My DD has a place similar to that on her side. It's not very noticeable and has never caused her any problem.

 

I looked at the pictures... it's almost identical to the pale patch on my dd's neck. Your little one's splotch is a bit bigger, but then, my dd is almost a year so her splotch may be the same size but "look" smaller, you know?

Anyway, our ped said dd2's splotch is totally normal (she said something about... hmmmm... don't remember the exact term but it had to do with circulation? how some people will have areas where the blood flow is a bit more constricted but it's not a problem, just a variation of normal).

I agree with pp.... Dr Google can be a very very bad idea when you're worried. If you do need some internet lovin' though, try to stay within a site like WebMd. It's less scary!

 

Both of my children have white patches like that. Ds' is on his leg and dd's is on her wrist.

 

I just wanted to add that my mother and law, husband and nephew have Vitiligo. It is inherited and really no big deal. It is a loss in pigment in the skin so there are white splotches here and there. MIL has it the worse all over her chest, husband has dots on back and nephew has it on his head (and his hair is white there). My youngest has a small spot on her knee, I am guessing she has gotten it from her daddy as for the oldest he doesn’t have it.

 

my 4yo dd has one on her right side almost exactly like that....a teeny tiny tad smaller.....

it's in the SAME EXACT SPOT as mine but her's is white and mine is tanish. her's isn't as noticable as it was when she was born...kinda blends in a bit more.

SAME SPOT, SAME SHAPE, SAME SIZE....she loves it.

I kinda hoped that dd2 had one but she doesn't.

I am sure it is nothing to worry about.

 

My dd also has a birthmark like that, only smaller. It was nothing, just a birthmark.

 

I see you've gotten lots of replies but I wanted to add my birthmark to the list! I have a hand sized white birthmark on my thigh just below my hip. Very irregular edge and it is actually touching a dark birthmark (I have three of those) that is much smaller. I've never had a problem. However, I think if seeing your doctor sooner will ease your mind, do it! We saw the dr. for the first time (homebirth too) because we were worried about something too, it was nothing but we sure felt better knowing it!

 

thank you for everyone's responses. i took dd to the pediatrician yesterday and they were not much help... the doctor looked at it and brought out the dermatology book... she discussed tubular sclerosis, but said it was rare. it still has me freaked out! http://www.aafp.org/afp/20000201/703.html it is my biggest concern. but it seems the hypopigented macules called ash leaf spot associated with this usually occur in greater numbers. dd only has the one on her back.

then we talked about nevus depigmentous, i went home and googled it more.
and came accross something else called nevus anemicus...and i am hoping this is most likely what it is since it would mean this is no big deal. just a birthmark.

anyway, they refered me to a pediatric dermatologist at a major hospital about an hour away. i called and made an appointment for her there, but the soonest time she could be see is in two weeks. so i guess we have to wait until then to find out more.

i appreciate all your thoughts and stories about similar birthmarks. and i am hoping it is simply that, a birthmark with no other serious condition associated with it.

it seemed strange to me that my pediatrican had not seen very many white birthmarks. are they that rare? it seemsm quite a few of you have or have children with them...

 

My pediatrician had only saw a handle full of these in his 30 year practice. My dd has a couple of white spots on her head. She has one near her hair line that is in the shape of a birds foot. She is 2 1/2 and it is barely noticeable. She grows white hair and silver hair out of them. I think I am the only one that notices. She has strawberry blonde hair with light gold and blonde streaks so they are not that noticeable. I worried when I first saw them and her heart shaped strawberry birthmark on the back of her head. But she is a healthy, intelligent, beautiful little girl.
Breath momma, your babe is ok.

 

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Originally Posted by AppleBlossomBaby My 2 1/2 week old daughter has a white/pale patch on her back about 2 inches wide. It has irregular borders and looks like a cloud. We just noticed it this past weekend as her mild jaundice went away. I tried googling white birthmarks and read about a condition called tuberous sclerosis, which has me pretty freaked out...but I was able to find very little info about white birthmarks themselves...only bigger diseases which they could be a sign of. Has anyone had a child with a birthmark or patch lacking pigment and appearing white shortly after birth? Any information would be so helpful, I am worried. She was born at home and was scheduled to see the pediatrician at 6 weeks old. Do I need to take her in sooner if there are no other signs something could be wrong? She is breastfeeding well, gaining weight, seems healthy and happy. ANy ideas or advice? Thanks! adding some pictures of the mark: http://www.flickr.com/photos/2708165...n/photostream/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/2708165...n/photostream/

i have a 4 weeks old dauther with similar patchs on her left hand, she has 3 such patches one below the other starts from left wrist. little worried.... docs say nothing to worry, it is just a birthmark but need further examination if it starts spreading.... so gotto wait and watch.... hi AppleBlossomBaby, can u pls let me know what the docs say regarding ur baby marks?