Newborn's skin

  Dear Dr.
  My last child was born with extremely dry, cracked skin. My pregnancy was normal and the baby was born 6 days past the calculated due date, so he was not abnormally late. The calculated due date was accurate because I knew the exact day I conceived. I am pregnant again and was wondering what caused the dry skin or if there is anything I did or could have done to prevent the same from happening with this baby.  

[HFHS.MD-HSW]

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Dear Ann Marie:
You do not state if your baby's skin turned out to be normal or if some condition persists which requires ongoing treatment. Most babies have a bit of scaly skin (at two weeks of age they look a little bit like snakes shedding their skin). As you allude, postdate infants (born after forty weeks) are particularly likely to have drier skin at birth. Beyond that, a few babies may have unusually dry skin at birth which marks the presence of more severe forms of an inherited skin condition called ichthyosis (fish scale skin). This form of dryness, unlike that of normal newborns, is permanent. Normal dryness can usually be treated effectively with the application of a moisturizing cream to areas like the ankles which tend to crack and confident observation.
This information is offered for educational purposes only. I hope it is useful to you.
HFHS.MD.HSW
Key Words: Ichthyosis