What causes craniosynostosis?

What causes craniosynostosis?

In most babies, experts can't identify one known cause of craniosynostosis. Sometimes, craniosynostosis occurs because of a sporadic (random) gene mutation (change), or it may run in families. Prematurity is a risk factor for craniosynostosis.

In other cases, some factors during pregnancy increase a baby’s risk for developing craniosynostosis. These include:

• Fertility medications such as clomiphene citrate (Clomid®).
• Maternal thyroid disease (developing thyroid disease while pregnant).