Birthmarks

Birthmarks can be categorised into two main groups; pigmented birthmarks or vascular based marks. Pigmented birthmarks are commonly the colour of bruised skin and result from unusually high concentrations of melanin in a given area. Vascular birthmarks are caused by blood vessels just below the skin and it is usually a shade of the colour of blood.

Birthmarks can pop up anywhere around the body and can vary in their intensity appearing flat or as a blob on the skin.
Here are common types of birthmarks:

• Mongolian spots - these appear as large patches of bluish greyish skin and are usually found on above and around the buttocks. Babies of Asian (south-) origin are highly likely to have this form of birthmark with a 95%+ chance of occurrence. Babies of east African origin have a 90 to 95% chance of having this. For Native American toddlers the percentage is 85 to 90%, Hispanic toddlers have a 50 to 70% chance of occurrence. This percentage range for Caucasian or half casts is quite low with only one to ten percentage having Mongolian spots. Mongolian spots usually disappear before a child reaches 6 years of age
• Angel kisses / stork bites / salmon patches - these appear as salmon coloured patch marks that are classed as vascular birthmarks as these marks are formed by small blood vessels (or capillaries) that dilated just under the skin. This type of mark occurs in 7 in 10 births. Stork bites can last a long time while angel bites - marks that appear near the forehead eye are can disappear in the first 24 months of birth. All these marks can become more noticeable as the temperature rises or if the baby gets quite stressed and starts crying
• Moles - of the birthmarks these are rarer to get with 1 in 100 babies getting them. They are also called 'Congenital Nevi' (plural: 'Congenital Neus') They start off flat small and quite dark then turn into a blob suspended above the skin with a thin neck that supply’s the mole with a blood supply. These marks may appear at around the 24 month age mark. Hair growth on the mole could also occur when your child is in his late teens.
• Café au Laît spots (CAL)- theses are like Mongolian patches but appear much smaller and of a tanned or yellow sand colour. As the child grows these marks do not grow in proportion and usually fade with age. Café au Laît spots appear in groups and get darker with a lot of sunlight 
• Port wine stains (also known as 'Nevus Flammeus') - this is another vascular type birthmark; it appears as if wine has been spilt on the skin and stained it on contact. Nevus Flammeus can occur anywhere around the body but occurrences are 1 in 300 chances. Sometimes the wine like stains can fade away with time, but when it does not then it can thicken and take on the colour and appearance of a scab on the skin
• Haemangioma - Haemangioma are vascular birthmarks and are actually blood vessels growths with about 30% of cases are  visible at the time of birth. They grow in size for the first 12 months to no more than 6 centimetres. Appearing as a flat or a lesional lump they can be disfiguring. Commonly occurring in two to five percentage of premature, baby girls, or twin babies, with one in five cases having multiple examples. They can go away without treatment within a decade but can leave visible traces of existence and sometimes no traces at all.
  One variety of Haemangioma known as Strawberry Haemangioma takes on a strawberry like colouration and usually appear as bumps on the skin and disappear on their on accord. Occurring in two to five percentage of newborns and 90 percentage of the cases flatten by the child’s nineth year or 50 percentage by the age of five.
  Another variety of Hemangioma (known as ‘Cavernous Haemangioma’) has a more depth in the skin. The deep haemangioma grows quite rapidly till the 6th month of the baby life and can disappear by the child mid teens. The deep nature caused by an abnormal vessel growth gives it a deeper blue/red colour.