I had never even heard of the term stork bites until a couple weeks ago. Although I have heard of strawberry marks and port wine stains.
A stork bite is a deep red birthmark that is actually a hemangioma.
A hemangioma is a benign tumor that presents as an increased number of normal or abnormal vessels filled with blood. It usually shows up at birth or in the first couple weeks after birth. They usually fade away before adolescence and if they are not gone by puberty, they can be removed with laser treatment.
My daughter has a cavernous hemangioma which has a mass of spongy tissue beneath the reddened blood vessels. You cannot really see it in pictures, but there is a purple hump under the mark and it extends in a blue ring around the mark.
Hemangiomas are usually harmless. Wyn’s has not grown anymore so I doubt she will have it past the age of five.
It doesn’t bother her or me, but people do a double take. You can feel it under her clothes because of the hump. Often when someone picks her up, they will feel it and lift her shirt to see. They usually gasp. Yes, it is big. Yes, it is dark. They are common in my family. My sister’s hemangioma took 10 years to go away.
It’s just a birthmark.
I’ve never been very keen on the stork concept, so I don’t love the term stork bites. But, let’s be frank. No one wants to call them vagina bites.
My son has one on the side of his head. It mostly blends into his hairline, but it’s still noticeable. People are always asking me if it’s a bruise. It has faded since he was born. He’ll be two in August. I wish it would go away though.