Flat headed baby...?

[pickleparademairead]

I'm convinced my 4-month old has a flat head. She sleeps on her back but leans to her left, so the left side of the back of her head is really quite flat. My older one never had this problem and has a perfectly spherical noggin.

Will this flatness go over time? She looks like the 'before' pic in ads for baby pillows. Any parents with babies with a similar problem??

Anyone?

I think as they start sitting up by themselves more it starts to sort itself out! I was also convinced my ds had a flat head and used to go on to my mom about it who used to tell me to stop being daft! Anyways he's now 6 and his head is completely normal 😂

Thank you! I hope so. It's just that my older daughter never had this, I was a bit alarmed.

I've sent you a private message

Have you got a sling/carrier? Less time laid down, and more time being carried will help. Both my DDs were velcro babies who wouldn't ever be put down, and always had very perfectly round heads... I'm sure it's because they never laid down!

DS1 had a flat ish head for a while because he slept on the same side. Once he could roll and sit up and his neck strengthened, it sorted itself out. I used to turn him if I could and do tummy time instead of the bouncer.

My baby has that; we actually took him to a chiropractor as his neck was very stiff which didn’t help. It does get better though as once they’re rolling, sitting and crawling they don’t spend so much time on their heads. Since 6 months my DS has slept on his front as he rolls over and spends most of the day on his tummy playing. Try to do as much Tummy time as you can and think about how you hold her when she feeds so that it’s not always on one side

Thank you everyone

It will get better. My eldest had a really flat head as a baby but you wouldn't know at all now.

I should add that she likes to tilt her head to one side. I move her head to a neutral position but she just turns back again. I'm keeping her off her head as much as possible, but that just means carrying or holding her all day, which is tricky with a toddler in tow too.

Has anyone got experience with flat head pillows?

My baby tilted her head to one side too, we saw a physio who gave us exercises to do and that fixed the head to one side issue. I'm so glad we saw the physio as the head tilting is obvious in photos looking back.

Can I ask what sort of exercises?

This is a couple of years ago now but the exercises were to strengthen the neck muscles so putting interesting toys/ the tv/ story book/ window etc on the side that they are using less so she could lengthen and strengthen that neck muscle and to encourage her to turn that way even if it was less comfortable. I would recommend physio they had a specialist at our local tiny hospital and we got an appointment quickly and they spent ages checking dd and gave lots of helpful advice about this. They gave me leaflets about torticollis. Play with them on their tummy as well to help strengthen the core muscles. I co slept a lot and I changed the side dd slept on for a while as she always faced me and slept on her side so to make sure it wasn't making her neck tight I changed side as the physio said any time they spend with their neck the other way to the direction they hold it naturally when when they tilt is good. Also carried in a sling and put her to sleep on my chest sometimes and turned her head to be facing the other way while she was asleep too.

Thank you for your reply. Was the physio part of NHS treatment or was it private? I don't mind paying if it's helpful - I'll just need to ask around for a recommendation.

I'm glad you mentioned the co-sleeping thing, as I have started doing that - putting her on my left side so she has to turn her head the other way to have milk!

That's good you're already doing it with cosleeping, once you're conscious of it you start noticing which way they're facing etc whenever you put them down. It was through the NHS and they got back to me really quickly with an appointment to see a specialist children's physio. She was great and had a lot of time to assess dd and go through how to help her. I went through the GP, I think some areas let you self refer online as well. As far as I remember it gradually stopped being noticeable and she was then fine but it's one of those things you don't want to ignore and not sort out. The early photos of dd it's really obvious her head is leaning to one side quizzically in every photo. I think they are strengthening muscles quite rapidly as babies and you want to make sure that they're not reinforcing their neck being tighter and weaker on one side long-term by not stretching it and using the other muscles. I was a bit worried at the time but you'd never think there had been anything now she's strong and holds her neck and head straight fine.

yes, that head tilt quizzical look! Very reminiscent of my old family border collie!

Thank you - I'll phone the GP tomorrow and see if they can refer us to a physio.

Monitor it. Ignore the posters - especially the well-known ones - who deny that wearing a helmet assists with plagiocephaly. they invariably are medical 'experts' who have never had a child who has been through that. It really does work.

My middle one had something called something like tortscollis which cause his head to face a little to one side and he also had a flat head. We got him a special concave type baby pillow, it was ludicrously expensive (from memory £75ish) but worth it because he now has a normal shaped head! I was also concerned about using any old pillow because of the risk of sids so that is why I bought the sids approved expensive one. He’s 7 now so it was a really long time ago but I’m sure if you google plagiocephaly pillow you will find one.

I spelt it wrong in my previous post, the head tilt is called infant torticollis. If you google that you should get some info, as well as plagiocephaly for the flat head.

Yes, was also going to mention torticolis, that causes a tightening/ shortening of neck muscle and the "border collie" tilt. NHS physio will resolve, but actually if you can find gentle paediatric cranial osteopath, I personally found that most helpful. Until the neck is looser/more mobile, repositioning alone won't resolve, it's like us with a bunched muscle that restricts movement.

Thanks posters - one PP reached out and mentioned torticollis. It seems likely. I'm happy to get the pillow if SIDS risk is next to none, doesn't really matter about the price. I'm hesitant about the helmet though - I feel like it could be distressing for her, and I'd rather not if there are other ways to resolve this.

DS, 4 months, had an obviously flat bit on one side and could not be persuaded to turn his head the other way. I mentioned it to GP at first jabs and she agreed he did have a flat head but said it wasn’t bad enough to get an NHS referral. So you might have to go private, as we did, even though DS’s was obviously flat.

We’ve been seeing an osteopath for a couple of months and his head movement has massively improved, although he clearly still has a preference for putting it on one side. We bought a Mimos pillow which was expensive and I assume it was what a PP was referring to, as it is the only one recommended.

The pillow, osteo and exercises have made a difference, but the flatness has not yet completely resolved. But I’m so glad I did something about it even though the GP was dismissive as I dread to think what it would’ve been like if left - DS could barely turn his neck in the other direction!

DD had a pronounced flat head. The health visitor said it is very common with modern bedding, prams, floor mats. She still does now (age 15) but has a tonne of hair and now you cannot notice.

My DS is like her double and with him I did a tonne more of tummy time mainly while feeding where I happily lay under him on the couch —and watched tonnes of Netflix— while he lay in his tummy and fed night and day that way. Tummy to tummy feeding meant he was doing a tonne of neck strengthening too. It worked better for him. So a tonne of tummy time seems to make a difference in our case.

@underthewestway would you recommend the Mimos? Does it stay put during sleep?

Re osteopath, I'm a bit put off because the NHS and scientific studies suggest it's not evidence-based (perhaps not enough research has been conducted) and may be harmful to infants. I'm not usually into alternative medicine, so I'm not sure whether to go for it.

Of course, tummy time. I'll try the tummy to tummy thing, because she is NOT a fan of standard tummy time (but who is?).