A cephalohematoma, the most common birth-related head injury, is a collection of blood between the periosteum and the skull that is confined by the cranial sutures, most often involving the parietal bone. Risk factors such as maternal parity and mode of delivery are known to play a key role in cephalohematoma development.

We conducted an in-depth meta-analysis of cephalohematoma cases. Following the guidelines of PRISMA and the Cochrane Handbook, and addressing heterogeneous study designs, odds ratios (ORs), 95% confidence intervals (CIs), and p-values were calculated and interpreted using IBM SPSS Statistics.

We documented 1,349 cases of cephalohematoma out of 132,422 total births, yielding an overall incidence rate of 1%. Primiparity was significantly associated with cephalohematoma:
? Primiparity was 2.14 times more likely to result in a cephalohematoma than multiparity (95% CI=(1.93,2.37),P<0.0001).
? Primiparity showed 1.92 times greater odds of cephalohematoma than general vaginal delivery (95% CI=(1.73,2.13),P<0.0001).
? Primiparity showed 1.18 times greater odds of presenting with a cephalohematoma than the combination of forceps and vacuum extraction (95% CI=(1.08,1.29),P=0.0002).

Our findings suggest fundamental cephalohematoma risk factors, such as parity, may be more influential and relevant than previously emphasized. Medical teams and families must be educated on the more pertinent risks, particularly those associated with primiparous mothers. Additional risk factors, such as labor duration, may also play an essential role in, but the existing data warrants further research.