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Updated: May 10, 2026

Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
Published on: August 25, 2014
Fifteen-minute consultation on the infant with a large head
1Correspondence to Dr Arnab Seal, Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Children's Services, Wortley Beck Health Centre, Ring Road, Lower Wortley, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS12 5SG, UK. arnab.seal@nhs.net
Abstract:
An infant with a large head (2.5 SDs above normal for weight and gender or above 99.6th centile for age) is a common clinical presentation. Usually, it is due to benign isolated macrocephaly or familial macrocephaly (FM) where some close family members are similarly affected(1); neither condition requires any further intervention. However, there are a few important underlying causes the clinician needs to actively consider and investigate when indicated before reassuring parents. These considerations include whether there is any associated developmental disorder or suggestion of a syndromic association or evidence of raised intracranial pressure (ICP).

