Many babies have what are called “birthmarks” when they’re born or within the first few weeks of life. They can be brown, tan, blue, pink, or red. More than one in ten babies have (red) vascular birthmarks. These are made up of an increased number of blood vessels in the skin. Which can be flat or raised, and also grow rapidly after the baby is born with life threatening consequences.
The most common forms of vascular birthmarks are hemangiomas, venous malformations, portwine stains, arteriovenous malformations, and lymphatic malformations.
There are a variety of treatments including steroids, lasers, embolization, surgical excision or combined therapies which may be used depending on the diagnosis.
