Factors that predispose to face presentation are prematurity, macrosomia, anencephaly and other malformations, cephalopelvic disproportion, and polyhydramnios. In an uncomplicated face presentation duration of labor is not altered. Perinatal losses with face presentation occur with traumatic version and extraction and midforceps procedures Duff indicates that the prevalence of face presentations is about 1/500–600., while Benedetti et al. found it to be 1/1,250 term deliveries.

Face presentations are classified according to the position of the chin (mentum):

- Left Mento-Anterior (LMA), Left Mento-Posterior (LMP), Left Mento-Transverse (LMT);

- Right Mento-Anterior (RMA), Right Mento-Posterior (RMP), Right Mento-Transverse (RMT);

While some consider the brow presentation as an intermediate stage towards the face presentation, others disagree. Thus Bhal et al. indicated that both conditions are about equally common (1/994 face and 1/755 brow positions), and that prematurity was more common with face while postmaturity was more common with brow positions.

Shoulder presentations are uncommon (about 0.5% of births) as usually towards the end of gestation either the head or the buttocks start to enter the upper part of the pelvis anchoring the fetus in a longitudinal lie. It is not known in all cases of shoulder presentation why the longitudinal lie is not reached, but possible causes include bony abnormalities of the pelvis, uterine abnormalities such as malformations or tumors (fibroids), and other tumors in the pelvis or abdomen can also lead to a shoulder presentation. Other factors are a lax abdominal musculature, uterine overdistension (i.e. polyhydramnios), multiple gestation, placenta previa, a small fetus, or a fetus with some abnormality. Further, if the amniotic fluid sac ruptures the shoulder or arm may become wedged as a shoulder presentation.

Types of breech depend on how the baby’s legs are lying.

- A frank breech (otherwise known as an extended breech) is where the baby’s legs are up next to its abdomen, with its knees straight and its feet next to its ears. This is the most common type of breech.

- A complete breech (flexed) breech is when the baby appears as though it is sitting crossed-legged with its legs bent at the hips and knees.

- A footling breech is when one or both of the baby’s feet are born first instead of the pelvis. This is more common in babies born prematurely or before their due date.

In addition to the above, breech births in which the sacrum is the fetal denominator can be classified by the position of a fetus. Thus sacro-anterior, sacro-transverse and sacro-posterior positions all exist, but left sacro-anterior is the most common presentation. Sacro-anterior indicates an easier delivery compared to other forms.

A shoulder presentation refers to a malpresentation at childbirth where the baby is in a transverse lie (its vertebral column is perpendicular to that of the mother), thus the leading part (the part that enters first the birth canal) is an arm, shoulder, or the trunk. While a baby can be delivered vaginally when either the head or the feet/buttocks are the leading part, it usually cannot be expected to be delivered successfully with a shoulder presentation unless a cesarean section (C/S) is performed.

A breech birth occurs when a baby is born bottom first instead of head first. Around 3-5% of pregnant women at term (37–40 weeks pregnant) will have a breech baby.

Most babies in the breech position are born by a caesarean section because it is seen as safer than being born vaginally.

As most breech babies are delivered by caesarean section in developed countries, doctors and midwives may lose the skills required to safely assist women giving birth to a breech baby vaginally. Delivering all breech babies by caesarean section in developing countries may be very difficult to implement or even impossible as there are not always resources available to provide this service.

The affected infant tends to be short, with a disproportionately large head. The fetal head of Infants born with iniencephaly are hyperextended while the foramen magnum is enlarged and opens through the widened pedicles. The defective neural arches directly into the upper cervical reach of the spinal canal, causing the formation of a common cavity between most of the spinal cord and the brain. The skin of the anterior chest is connected directly to the face, bypassing the formation of a neck, while the scalp is directly connected to the skin of the back. Because of this, those born with this anomaly either have a highly shortened neck or no neck at all. This causes extreme retroflexion, or backward bending, of the head in a "star-gazing" fashion. The spine is severely distorted as well along with significant shortening due to marked lordosis. The vertebrae, especially cervical, are fused together in abnormal shapes and their numbers are reduced. The spinal cord is almost always defective while the ventricular system is often dilated and the cortex is thinned. Sometimes, in the case of iniencephaly apertus, an encephalocele (sac-like protrusions of the brain through an opening in the cranium) forms.

The major concern of shoulder dystocia is damage to the upper brachial plexus nerves. These supply the sensory and motor components of the shoulder, arm and hands. The ventral roots (motor pathway) are most prone to injury. The cause of injury to the baby is debated, but a probable mechanism is manual stretching of the nerves, which in itself can cause injury. Excess tension may physically tear the nerve roots out from the neonatal spinal column, resulting in total dysfunction.

- Klumpke paralysis

- Erb's Palsy

- Fetal hypoxia

- Fetal death

- Cerebral palsy

- Maternal post partum hemorrhage (11%)

- Vaginal lacerations and 3rd/4th degree tears, extended episiotomies

- uterine rupture

Additional symptoms include:

- anencephaly (failure of major sections of the brain to form)

- encephalocele (cranial contents protrudes from the skull)

- cyclopia (the two eye cavities fuse into one)

- agnathia

- cleft palate

- arthrogryposis

- clubfeet

- holoprosencephaly

- spina bifida

- low-set ears

- pulmonary hypoplasia

- omphalocele

- gastroschisis

- cardiovascular disorders

- diaphragmatic hernias

- gastrointestinal atresia

- single umbilical artery

- renal abnormalities

- genu recurvatum

- hydramnios

One characteristic of a minority of shoulder dystocia deliveries is the turtle sign, which involves the appearance and retraction of the fetal head (analogous to a turtle withdrawing into its shell), and the erythematous (red), puffy face indicative of facial flushing. This occurs when the baby's shoulder is obstructed by the maternal pelvis.

It may be associated with:

- 8th cranial nerve lesion

- Optic nerve compression

- Mental retardation

- Syndactyly

Trigonocephaly (Greek: 'trigonon' = triangle, 'kephale' = head) is a congenital condition of premature fusion of the metopic suture (Greek: 'metopon' = forehead) leading to a triangular shaped forehead. The merging of the two frontal bones leads to transverse growth restriction and parallel growth expansion. It may occur syndromic involving other abnormalities or isolated.

Not all cranial abnormalities seen in children with craniosynostosis are solely a consequence of the premature fusion of a cranial suture. This is especially true in the cases with syndromic craniosynostosis. Findings include elevation of the intracranial pressure; obstructive sleep apnoea(OSA); abnormalities in the skull base and neurobehavioral impairment.

The word pansynostosis is also Greek derived and can be translated as 'all one bone', indicating that all of the sutures are closed. In general practice, the term is used to describe the children with three or more cranial sutures closed.

Pansynostosis can present in several ways. The appearance can be the same as that seen with primary microcephaly: a markedly small head, but with normal proportions. However, pansynostosis can also appear as a Kleeblattschädel (cloverleaf skull), which presents with bulging of the different bones of the cranial vault. The condition is associated with thanatophoric dwarfism.

Scaphocephaly is a type of cephalic disorder which occurs when there is a premature fusion of the sagittal suture. The sagittal suture joins together the two parietal bones of skull. Scaphocephaly is the most common of the craniosynostosis conditions and is characterized by a long, narrow head.

The term is from Greek "skaphe" meaning 'light boat or skiff' and "kephale" meaning 'head') describes a specific shape of a long narrow head that resembles an inverted boat.

Diagnosis can be characterized by typical facial and cranial deformities.

Observatory signs of trigonocephaly are:

- a triangular shaped forehead seen from top view leading to a smaller anterior cranial fossa

- a visible and palpable midline ridge

- hypotelorism inducing ethmoidal hypoplasia

Imaging techniques (3D-CT, Röntgenography, MRI) show:

- epicanthal folds in limited cases

- teardrop shaped orbits angulated towards the midline of the forehead ('surprised coon' sign) in severe cases

- a contrast difference between a röntgenograph of a normal and a trigonocephalic skull

- anterior curving of the metopic suture seen from lateral view of the cranium on a röntgenograph

- a normal cephalic index (maximum cranium width / maximum cranium length) however, there is bitemporal shortening and biparietal broadening

The neuropsychological development is not always affected. These effects are only visible in a small percentage of children with trigonocephaly or other suture synostoses. Neuropsychological signs are:

- problems in behaviour, speech and language

- mental retardation

- neurodevelopmental delays such as ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder), ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) and CD (Conduct Disorder). Many of these delays become evident at school age.

Oxycephaly is a type of cephalic disorder where the top of the skull is pointed or conical due to premature closure of the coronal suture plus any other suture, like the lambdoid, or it may be used to describe the premature fusion of all sutures. It should be differentiated from Crouzon syndrome. Oxycephaly is the most severe of the craniosynostoses.

Locked twins is a rare complication of multiple pregnancy where two fetuses become interlocked during presentation before birth. It occurs in roughly 1 in 1,000 twin deliveries and 1 in 90,000 deliveries overall. Most often, locked twins are delivered via Caesarean section, given that the condition has been diagnosed early enough. The fetal mortality rate is high for the twin that presents first, with over 50% being stillborn.

The general presentation is of a skin-covered nodule, papule, or nodule of the skin surface, usually immediately anterior to the auricle. However, it may be anywhere within the periauricular tissues. Bilateral presentation can be seen.

There are two types of locked twins: breech/vertex and vertex/vertex. In breech/vertex presentations, which are much more common, the first twin is in the breech position, presenting feet-first, and the second is in the cephalic (vertex) position, presenting in the normal head-first manner. In these cases, the chin of the first twin locks behind the chin of the second twin while in the uterus or birth canal, preventing vaginal delivery. In vertex/vertex presentations, where both twins are positioned for head-first delivery, the two heads become locked at the pelvic brim, preventing either fetus from passing through the pelvic inlet in a vaginal delivery.

Contributing factors to the interlocking of twins include uterine hypertonicity, small fetal size, and reduced levels of amniotic fluid following rupture of the membranes. It is more likely to occur in women with large pelvises, young primigravidae (young women in their first pregnancy), and pregnancies with monoamniotic twins.

The common clinical features are smaller symphysis fundal height, fetal malpresentation, undue prominence of fetal parts and reduced amount of amniotic fluid.

Complications may include cord compression, musculoskeletal abnormalities such as facial distortion and clubfoot, pulmonary hypoplasia and intrauterine growth restriction. Amnion nodosum is frequently also present (nodules on the fetal surface of the amnion).

The use of oligohydramnios as a predictor of gestational complications is controversial.

Potter syndrome is a condition caused by oligohydramnios. Affected fetuses develop pulmonary hypoplasia, limb deformities, and characteristic facies. Bilateral agenesis of the fetal kidneys is the most common cause due to the lack of fetal urine.

An accessory auricle is considered a developmental anomaly resulting from the persistence of a structure which variably recapitulates the normal external ear.

Brachycephaly (from Greek roots meaning "short" and "head") is the shape of a skull shorter than typical for its species. It is perceived as a desirable trait in some domesticated dog and cat breeds, such as pugs, and can be normal or abnormal in other animal species. In humans, the cephalic disorder is known as flat head syndrome, and results from premature fusion of the coronal sutures (see craniosynostosis) or from external deformation (see plagiocephaly). The coronal suture is the fibrous joint that unites the frontal bone with the two parietal bones of the skull. The parietal bones form the top and sides of the skull. This feature can be seen in Down syndrome.

In anthropology, human populations have been characterized as either dolichocephalic (long headed), mesaticephalic (moderate headed), or brachycephalic (short headed). The usefulness of the cephalic index was questioned by Giuseppe Sergi, who argued that cranial morphology provided a better means to model racial ancestry. The incidence of brachycephaly in people has increased since the advent of sudden infant death syndrome recommendations for parents to keep their babies on their backs. It is considered a cosmetic problem. Many pediatricians remain unaware of the issue and possible treatments. Treatments include regular prone repositioning of babies ("tummy time").

There are also cases of brachycephaly associated with plagiocephaly. Brachycephaly with plagiocephaly is positional and has become more prevalent since the "Back to Sleep" Campaign.The Back to Sleep campaign began in 1994 as a way to educate about ways to reduce the risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). The campaign was named for its recommendation to place healthy babies on their backs to sleep. Placing babies on their backs to sleep reduces the risk for SIDS, also known as "cot death" or "crib death." This campaign has been successful in promoting infant back sleeping and other risk-reduction strategies to parents, family members, child care providers, health professionals, and all other caregivers of infants, at a cost of increasing the incidence of this deformation of the head.

Brachycephaly also describes a developmentally normal type of skull with a high cephalic index, such as in snub-nosed breeds of dog such as pugs, Shih Tzus, and bulldogs or cats such as the Persian, Exotic and Himalayan.

This condition can be corrected by surgery if the child is young enough. The use of a cranial remolding orthosis can also benefit the child if the child begins wearing it at an early age.