# pink splotches **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 6, 1999, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-splotches/5167 "1999-12-06T19:09:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eada6e/32.png) [@aha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aha)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 1999, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-splotches/5167/1 "1999-12-06T19:09:00Z")
When my two sons were born they each had those pink-red splotches on the backs of their necks up almost into the hairline. I thought it was a family birthmark until I noticed lots of babies have those. Has anyone else noticed those? What are they and why do they appear on just the back of newborn necks? I did notice that they tend to fade over time. ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 1999, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-splotches/5167/2 "1999-12-06T20:52:00Z")
They’re called “stork bites”. It’s a birthmark, and it’s pretty common for babies to have them (I got this info by entering “stork bites” into Dogpile.) I assumed that they were minor bruising caused by the pressures of childbirth, but it looks like I’m wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Jois](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ea666f/32.png) [@Jois](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jois)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 1999, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-splotches/5167/3 "1999-12-06T22:22:00Z")
I thought they gradually moved up into the hair-covered part of the head. No, not like walking, but as the skin stretched this part of the neck would stretch up under the hair. And now that I’ve said that it seems dumb, too. Anyway, I used to ride public transportation in Washington DC and often noticed the stork bites in the hair above the necks of the guys around me. Maybe it is an X-Flies thing. ---
**Author:** ![Jois](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ea666f/32.png) [@Jois](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jois)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 1999, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-splotches/5167/4 "1999-12-06T22:22:00Z")
Or maybe X\_Flies, Y & Z. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 1999, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-splotches/5167/5 "1999-12-07T17:25:00Z")
Maybe its the forceps pull mark? ---
**Author:** ![Jois](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ea666f/32.png) [@Jois](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jois)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 1999, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-splotches/5167/6 "1999-12-07T17:37:00Z")
Macular stains — Also called “angel’s kisses” or “stork bites,” these flat pink marks are the most common vascular birthmarks. They occur on the forehead, eyelids, tip of the nose, upper lip, back of the neck and other locations. They are harmless and almost always fade by age two. Cute stuff from the Mayo Clinic via a search engine - under stork bites. ---
**Author:** ![Nickrz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbce88/32.png) [@Nickrz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nickrz)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 1999, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-splotches/5167/7 "1999-12-07T17:42:00Z")
> [@](#): > > I used to ride public transportation in Washington DC and often noticed the stork bites in the hair above the necks of the guys around me. I’m not sure I’d want to know what was lurking in the hair above the necks of the guys around me on public transportation. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 1999, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-splotches/5167/8 "1999-12-07T22:28:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Maybe its the forceps pull mark? Nope, my wife had both of our kids at home and the younger one had 'em. I thought that they were brought on by the pressures of childbirth (he was an anterior birth and was a pretty big kid), but I haven’t found this mentioned anywhere as a cause.