What is a stork bite?

Red skin spots: About 30% of newborn babies may have small-to-medium sized reddish splotches on the forehead, nose, eyelids, upper lip or back of the neck immediately after birth. These are small collections of blood vessels just under the skin surface. They represent a normal variation called nevus simplex or nevus flammeus. The vast majority of these marks disappear in the first two years.

Nevus simplex: A stork bite (or nevus simplex) is a small area of redness at the nape of the neck usually noticed in the newborn period. You may also see a similar area of redness over the eyelids or between the eyebrows (sometimes called an angel's kiss or salmon patch). The lesions fade with time, though may still be slightly visible in adulthood especially when flushed.

Birthmark: Some babies are born with red, flat marks on their eyelids, the bridge of their nose and/or the nape of the neck. The medical term for one of these is nevus flammeus. The common name used for the one on the nape of the neck is "stork bite, " referring to babies being delivered by storks. The common name used for the ones on the eyelids and the bridge of the nose is "angel's kisses.".