Goi Goi Baby Pillows for flat head syndrome

[yourlittleswampduck]

Hi, my DD is 5 months and has a flattened head on one side. HV and doc have told us to leave it and it will correct itself... I am not so sure. Has anyone tried the Swedish recommended baby pillows *Goi Goi please?

[newmumhelp]

Don't know about this, but i'm bumping it for you as my ds has a flat head on the one side too, so would like to know if anyone has any experience with this also

[Mummyvicky]

My ds 15 weeks has a flat head at the back, jojo maman bebe have a little cushion in the catalogue to help with it, but its quite expensive for what it is.
Our GP is going to review his head at 6 months- she said worst case scenario is an operation on his skull so I'm desperate to sort it too ! Worrying isn't it ?

[mumfor1sttime]

Never heard of this cushion, but sounds interesting. My ds had a flat head at the back of his head, since he started laying on his side, it has corrected itself.
I suppose it is what happens when babies sleep on their back non stop. I have seen on tv a 'helmet' which you can buy too (it was a story on local news I think), cant remember where to get it- not in this country though.

[Pruni]

Message withdrawn

[Mojomummy]

I haven't but if/when I have my next baby, I'll definetely try something. I did see someone selling these on e-bay sometime ago. There is also a sleepcurve matteress insert which can be bought.

I would say it's worth every penny, not just for the asthetic affect, but to prevent any unnecessary pressure elsewhere.

I imagine the re-sell value would be good too

[ck1]

I run a support group for parents of babies with flat heads, and a number of our 250 members have used the pillow with good success - and they also seem to recommend the Sleepcurve mattress too.

Come along and join us at groups.msn.com/PlagioUK and you can quiz everyone about their experiences.

While you're at it, you may also like to sign my petition which specifically calls on the NHS to give new parents advice about positioning their babies so that flat heads don't develop in the first place!

Claire

[Kelly1978]

my dts both have flat heads, one worse than the other nd I actually think it is mroe down to the amount of time spent in their car seats than anything. They spent far too much time laid in their car seats with those head huggers and got in the habit of beign flat on the back of their heads. If I were to have another baby I wouldn't use those head huggers. Now they are 6 mnths they are in the seats of the buggy, rolling and sitting and spending far less time on their backs. they also sleep on their sides, adn I try to alternative sides to round it out, and it is getting slightly less severe. I thought about those cushions,a dn kiddicare do a special thing for baby to lay on too, but now they are older it seem to be sorting itself.

[Mummyvicky]

Thank you ck1 for the link- a really informative site that I will have a good read of !
reassuring to know there are others in a similar situation

[CJBarrass]

Hi
There is a pillow called the 'love nest' - available online from a company called perfectly happy people (just do a google search). It's cheap and seems very safe - it's small, flat and basically has a head shaped hollow to stop the head resting directly on the matress. The baby can still turn its head from side to side but no part of the head makes contact with the hard surface underneath. I believe they use them routinely in Sweden (read this somewhere but can't remember where!). It's suitable from birth to four months so useful if you're worried about flat head developing. Can't vouch for success yet - just got one for my 15 week daughter who has developed a very flat head across the back and to one side. As I'm late starting use of the pillow I'm also exploring cranial osteopathy and trying to get the GP to acknowledge the problem. Has anyone else tried the 'love nest'?

[Seona1973]

my ds (now 14 months) used the goi goi pillow from a few weeks old and the flattening of his head improved greatly. He still has the cot sized one in his bed now but doesnt sleep on it much any more as he moves around the cot too much.

I got mine from here

[SoupDragon]

BabyDragon had/has the most beautifully shaped head - even the cranial osteopath commented on it when she was a baby [preen].

Anyway, the only difference between her and the older SmallDragons (who had flat backs to their heads which I think corrected themselves) was that she was carried in a sling (Coorie) for the majority of the time rather than being in a pram or carseat.

Personally, I don't think it's the back-to-sleep by itself, it's the amount of time they now spend in carseat, prams and rocker chairs combined.

[smartiejake]

My nephew had this. sil took him to an osteopath for cranal massage and it worked a treat!

[kinki]

My ds3 uses a goi goi pillow. He had a stiff neck which was always turned to the left, which was resulting in a flattened area on his skull. He has been having osteopathy, and can now move his head more freely, and now he can rest with his head turned to either side, though favours the left still. The flattened area hasn't got any worse since starting osteopathy and using the pillow about 5 weeks ago, he's 3 months old now. Probably a combination of the two has helped. I use the goi goi pillow in his moses basket, and another home-made one in his pram. I must say, he does look very comfortable when resting on it. I figured, its a small price to pay if its going to prevent a misshapen skull.

[EachPeachPearMum]

My dd had plagiocephaly, and we used a goigoi. It did successfully prevent any further mis-shaping, however repositioning did not work to re-shape her skull, and we eventually decided to treat it with a helmet. There are several providers in the UK. Her head is still not perfect, but is greatly improved, and the flat part is at least symmetrical now, and the bulginess at the front is corrected.
Unless you knew what to look for, you would not notice.

[ConnorTraceptive]

agree with soupdragon, babies spend so much time on the backs of their heads now. DS had a very flat head and I believe it was due to how much time he spent in a rocker chair. We only used the chair until he was 8 weeks old and once we had noticed how flat his head was but even by those early weeks the damage was done.
Took a further 18 months to correct the shape of his head and eevn now it's not perfect.

like soupdragon this next baby will be spending much more time in a sling.