Baby Has Saccral Pit

There are many indicators of a neral tube defect as there are many differing levels of damage they can cause. They have found that a diple, or tuff on hair are indicators...but most people with these indicators walk around their wholes lives and never once know they have a problem. Others you find as they start walking and crawling and need some physical therapy. Some have open defects, these cause major problems in development and walking. This would be more than a pit or a dimple but an actual opening. As long as the child is moving the legs around and voiding/stooling ok, and doc. isn't too concerned there is probably not much to worry about.

As an RN, yes, we call it a dimple..basically the goal is to make sure there is no opening..sometimes, you have to really get a flashlight and make sure there is none..typically this is done at delivery...I have never seen where somewhere down the road it opens up and turns into something. Spinal bifida (neural tube defect) happens early in utero and does not occur spontaneously afterwards. SO, if your baby has a bootie dimple:) then my only concern is keeping it clean. Poo tends to hide in there...I found that sometimes I had to use a qtip to clean it if my dtr had a bad diaper! My dtrs got better as she got older.

S.,
I know how you feel! My daughter is almost a year old and she had it when she was born. The doctors pointed it out in the hopsital and told us to make sure we discussed it with our pediatrician. We got on the internet and read about it too so we had lots of questions when we went to our fist appointment. My doctor took a more aggressive approach and at her very first appointment scheduled her for an ultrasound of her spine. We went to Childrens hospital when she was 8 days old and it was a breeze... it was well worth the peace of mind knowing for sure nothing was wrong with her spine. She still has a little dimple but it has grown in enough that poo does not get trapped in it anymore. I would encourage you to discuss the ultrasound option with your doctor.
R.'

Hi S.. My son was born 4 months ago and also has a sacral dimple. Our doctor hasn't been too concerned about it. I remind her of it all the time just to make sure every thing is fine with it, but she checks it and insists every thing is okay.

The problem with this is that,at least two percent of babies may have these pits. That's one in every 50 babies. And almost all of these pits are insignificant when it comes to serious problems or involvement of deeper tissues. Therefore, what do doctors look for to decide who ought to have additional tests to examine the deeper tissues? There are a number of things, but some of them include:

Can the floor of the pit or dimple be easily visualized? Divots in which the bottom portion cannot be seen may be evidence of a neural tube that never closed completely.
Does the pit have a tuft of hair growing from it? This again make a pit suspicious for deeper involvement.
Is the neurologic exam normal? If there is significant involvement of the spinal column, there may be weakness in the legs.
How high up on the back is the dimple? Most dimples very low on the back (just above the buttocks) are of little concern. The higher the dimple is, the more likely it is to be associated with defects in deeper tissues.
Are there signs of any other defects? The brain, spinal column, kidneys, as well as other structures form at the same time the neural tube closes. Therefore, if there are any malformations in any other parts of the body, it becomes more concerning that the neural tube may be involved as well.

By this, do you mean a little indentation at the top of their little bottom crack / bottom of their spine? My daughter had this and the doctor did not call it that. But he did say that she has no signs or symptoms of anything and was not worried about it. She's 5 now and still has it but is totally normal.

Hi S.,
My daughter was born a saccral dimple.I had a positive alpha protine test while I was pregnant. So when she was born they had a specalistists check her over and they did a ct scan of the area and of her spine. Everything was normal. She is now 7 and healthy it has reduced in size. My husband and some of his family members have the same thing.The most important thing was to keep it cleaned. If you are worried they can check in to it for you..
Good luck..

S.- i too freaked out when it seemed the docs were making a deal of my daughter's, but it turned out just to be a dimple. i think it may just be genetic, because i learned at the age of 25 that i, too have a dimple. (too much information?)
check your cracker and your husband's to see if either of you have one! -L.

My baby boy was born 4 monthes ago and he also had a sacral dimple. I was very concerned about it and my doctor told me not to worry. Well, we are mothers, and that is what we do.
I did research on the computer too, and everything I read was scary. I happened to mention it to my mother-in-law, and she told me that my husbands brother had the same thing. I called him, and he told me that the only issue that he ever had with it, was keeping it clean(sports,sweating) because he was told it could get infected, and his butt gets sore if he has to sit for too long. Just keep an eye on your baby's legs. They say that if there are any signs of weakness in the limbs, he may need an MRI. Apparentaly, these dimples are usually harmless. My son's dimple is right above his "crack", and looks almost like a second anus. I guess the higher up they are on the back, and if they have hair growing out of them, the more you should be concerned. If your baby is moving her legs fine, then don't worry. Please feel free to email me if you want to talk more. I'm not too worried about my son anymore.