Can An Infant’s Wide Nose Become Smaller? (Why You Shouldn’t Pinch Your Infant’s Nose)

When an infant is born, their nose might become a bit flatter, but it’s all normal and part of the process. After being born, their facial appearance changes significantly. Their nose is still growing, and their nasal bridge can take a week to two months to take shape. Your infant’s features are all genetics, and you can’t actually change them. Trying a massage technique, pinching their nose, or using a tool to make their wide nose slimmer can hinder their development. In severe cases, they might require medical attention. If you suspect your infant has a low nasal bridge, get it checked by your doctor because, in some instances, it might indicate genetic or hereditary medical conditions. 

When you give birth to your newborn, you’re genuinely exhausted to notice any of their features and feel thankful they’re born healthy.

But as you take them home, you start noticing all the little things about them, including their features, such as their flat and thick nose. This makes you wonder if their nose will remain like this, and where is their nose bridge?

Instead of the picture-perfect baby you had in mind, your baby doesn’t look anything of that sort, and you start worrying about their wide nose. But what if I tell you there’s a perfectly valid reason behind this wide nose of your infant, and no, you’re not the only one with a broad nose infant. 

Reason why your infant has a wide nose

A close-up of an infant boy's face, showing his wide nose.

Watching your infant for the first week of their life, you’ll realize how quickly they’re changing. Even from the day they were born, their features and body must have changed a lot, and these changes will continue for the next three months of life.

While you and your partner might have a perfect nose, you can become slightly worried looking at your infant’s wide nose. Your infant’s nose might not resemble yours. 

It’s because it was as challenging to be born as it was for you to birth them.

While you faced difficulties, they too were being pushed from their comfort zone to the outside world from a narrow pathway. 

That’s why you might notice their face looks so puffy right after birth.

Labor changes your infant’s nose, making it flatter because of the tight squeeze during labor and delivery. 

How your baby looks in the first week of life might differ from how they look after a month.

They’re going through a lot of changes and are getting accumulated to the world around them.

How can I change my infant’s wide nose?

The initial shape of your infant’s nose is a bit flattened out due to the birth.

Over time their nose and other facial features will keep developing and changing. You’ll notice many changes for the first three months as their nose still hasn’t completely formed.

The nose is the first feature that starts forming when your baby is in your womb around seven to eight weeks of pregnancy, but the process continues when they’re born.

After being born, their nose still takes about a week or even a month to develop fully because their nasal bridge and nasal passage are still growing. 

It’s right to be worried as first-time parents when you don’t know any better, but rest assured that their features, including their nose, are still developing.

There’s no reason to freak out because all you need to do is wait for their features and face structure to grow and take their rightful place.

Why you shouldn’t pinch your infant’s nose

You can be worried as first-time parents when you see your infant’s wide nose and wonder how to change the shape.

A moms pinching her infant son's nose after bath time

But before you resort to any nose shape-changing techniques, know that it can hinder their nasal development.

After being born, their nose is still developing. If you’re looking for ways to make their nose flatter and more aesthetically pleasing by massaging or pinching it, doing so could prevent their nasal bridge and the nasal passage from developing fully.

It can even injure their nose to the point where they might need immediate medical attention.

Your relative or close family friend might have told you that pinching or even massaging it in a certain way can gradually change their nose shape, making it smaller and more defined. Do know that doing it won’t change anything.

Their genes already decide the shape of your infant’s nose. A specific massage technique or a nose shape changer won’t change anything. 

What’s a broad nasal bridge?

While all infants have a smaller, flatter, and rounder noses as an infant, they do grow into their features.

Mom is touching her infant son's nose which seems to have a broad nasal bridge, making the baby's nose look wider.

After a few months, their face looks unique as the bridge of the nose grows and becomes more defined.

A round nose does take up its shape as the nasal bridge grows. But sometimes, you might notice an infant might have a more comprehensive top portion of the nose which usually doesn’t become slimmer as they grow up.

It’s because this is referred to as a broad nasal bridge. While it’s also a typical facial feature, it could indicate certain genetic or hereditary medical conditions, especially when present with other associated anomalies. 

It could be a symptom of the following medical conditions:

  • Basal cell nevus syndrome
  • Fetal hydantoin effect
  • Other congenital syndromes

If you detect the bridge of the nose isn’t normal, a doctor will perform a test to determine what’s causing this syndrome and to see if it’s a genetic or hereditary condition.

Otherwise, you don’t need to worry and accept it’s your baby’s natural nose shape and be happy that they’re healthy. 

FAQs

Does the baby’s nose get smaller over time?

When an infant is born, they look entirely different after a week or even a month.

The reason is that as they’re born, their face might look puffy and their features are still not fully developed. 

Coming out of the birth canal is also tricky for them. A baby’s features also grow in and become more defined. But this also happens to a certain point because the features are based on their genetics. 

They can’t completely change their features, and no technique can change their feature or make their nose smaller. 

Do all babies have wide noses?

Yes, all babies have fairly broad noses when they’re born. Also known as button or pug noses. Their features get flattened out a bit as they’re being born.

This isn’t something to worry about because their features grow and become defined within three months of being born.

Depending on their genetics, their features start resembling that of their parents.

At what age does a child’s nose change shape?

Right after being born, the nose still is in the development stage as the nose bridge is forming.

The features become a bit defined and start to resemble that of their parents in the first month after birth.

The nose keeps growing until about age 15-17 for women and 17-19 for men, and it grows more downwards. 

Will pinching my baby’s nose make it pointed?

You can’t change the shape of your baby’s nose. Be it by pinching or massaging it, and the nose won’t become pointed or smaller in any case. Genetics determines your baby’s features that they receive from you.

If you try to make their nose more petite, you might hurt them because their nasal bridge development is still in the process when they’re infants. 

Can you change your nose shape with pressure?

A nose shape is determined by genetics, the size, shape, and positions of the cartilage and bones inside the skin. You can’t change the nose shape with pressure or by massaging it. 

Some people claim to change nose shape with nose exercises or facial exercises, but that too doesn’t work either. Your nose is made of cartilage, not fat, so no exercise can change its shape.

To summarise

It’s great to hold your newborn in your arms and feel grateful that they’re born healthy. Many parents worry about their infant’s features, including their wide nose or small eyes, and wonder how they could look so different from them.

While it’s okay to feel concerned, you must understand that an infant changes a lot while growing up.

Physically their features are still developing and taking their genetic shape, and if you hamper too much with this process, you could unintentionally end up hindering their development.

Having a healthy and growing baby is the most rewarding thing, and as parents, you should feel content as they reach these developmental milestones.

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As a writer for 1happykiddo, Saumya wants to help new parents and older siblings help raise the newest member added to the family. Her parenting tips come from her experience of being 15 years older than her youngest sibling. When not writing, you can find her reading novels, traveling, and cooking nutritious meals.

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