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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Plagiocephaly - flat head syndrome DS 4 months

62 replies

EssentialHippo · 12/04/2020 14:53

My baby is 4 months old and over the last few weeks his flat head has gotten a lot worse. It is to the right side of his head as that is his preference to sleep. I try and turn his head each night and when I wake in the night but he is stubborn and often turns it back. I can't bring myself to use a pillow due to the SIDs risk. I feel so guilty for not noticing before now and moving his head around or looking up details and how to help with this sooner. The info I've now read suggests that my DS is a prime candidate for this being born by forceps, refusal of dummy and thumb sucking instead and tight neck muscles. I feel horrendously guilty for letting it get this bad.

I have been in touch with a specialist and can afford the slightly horrific fees. However, during this pandemic I don't know whether I would be reasonable in going to see this specialist. I have an appointment booked but I'm getting nervous.

What have others done and would you take DS to the specialist in these awful times?

OP posts:
Original poster
EssentialHippo · 12/04/2020 15:50

I just feel that I have contributed to this by not noticing quick enough and reacting. Thank you for the pillow website @wowjustwowyes17262

OP posts:
MyNameHasBeenTaken · 12/04/2020 15:53

Yes to all the bike helmets comments!
Dd was in a large adult helmet aged 3 onwards, for the width.
The skate style helmets fit her a lot better, might be worth a try, for anybody looking for one?

Original poster
EssentialHippo · 12/04/2020 15:54

He isn't often on his back during the day if I can help it. And I try and bribe him to turn his head. Usually with YouTube sensory videos. I am just nervous about not doing anything and him being deformed.

OP posts:
Flump9 · 12/04/2020 16:17

A sleepcurve mattress sorted my son's out. Expensive but not as much as a helmet! His was quite bad and it was causing his ears to be uneven and his forehead had the bulge on one side. Ive just looked at his forehead now at the age of 8 and it's very slightly uneven but not very noticeable. His was bad enough that it would not have corrected on its own without the mattress.

nobodyimportant · 12/04/2020 16:25

No, it won't correct itself! This is a myth. I listened to people saying this and left it until I took him to the GP for something else and she freaked out about it! My DS aged 13 still doesn't have an entirely normally shaped head! It's not really noticeable to look at but things like bike helmets don't fit him very well. We were referred for physio on the NHS.

Things that will help:

  • lots of tummy time if he will accept it
  • encourage him to turn his head the other way by putting things he likes to look at on the unfavoured side (eg tv in the house, toy on pram)
  • soft pillow to use while he is supervised eg in pram or bouncy chair
  • using a sling instead of a pram
  • we used a shaped mattress (this is an increased SIDS risk but since he never moved while he was asleep I decided that the increased risk was insignificant). As soon as he became more mobile he went back to a flat mattress.
  • sitting in a Bumbo so his head isn't resting on anything.

Basically the aim is to minimise any pressure on the flat part of his head.

nobodyimportant · 12/04/2020 16:29

Ah yes, Sleepcurve was the mattress we used. It definitely made a difference.

Whatthefunk · 12/04/2020 16:45

I am a nanny, and one of my charges had this. I took him for cranial massage at an osteopaths. It was very gentle and over time really improved

Moominmama79 · 12/04/2020 16:58

My son had this and was under consultation with the NHS. His was quite severe, it looked as though one side of his head had been sliced off 😳 He didn't have any treatment, no helmets or pillows. He just had regular X rays to make sure the bones hadn't fused. We were told if they had he could have a procedure done where they basically cut through the bones to separate them but we decide against this if it was ever needed. It corrected itself as he got older. It's not perfect, still slightly flat and his ears aren't level as one is pushed forward on the side his head is flat so he has trouble wearing glasses but no major problems.

PowerslidePanda · 12/04/2020 17:17

My twins are 5 months old and we noticed at 6 weeks that they're both affected by this. I've got a thread about it on the Multiples board:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/multiple_births/3785934-Preferential-head-turn-and-flat-head-syndrome

I shared your concerns about the SIDS risks of the pillows, so we only use ours for daytime naps (when we can supervise closely) or when they're sat in their swingy chairs. We went with Mimos pillows and they've honestly made a big difference - not just to their head shape, but breaking the habit of sleeping on one side too. As PP have said, it does get a bit better once they can go in things like bumbo chairs too.

If not for the COVID-19 situation, we would be seeking further help at this point. but having weighed up the risks, we've decided against it. That's partially because we're a lot less concerned about it now than we were a few weeks ago.

Original poster
EssentialHippo · 12/04/2020 17:23

@powerslidepanda when did you start using the pillows?

OP posts:
AnyFucker · 12/04/2020 17:24

physiotherapy advice here

PowerslidePanda · 12/04/2020 17:29

@powerslidepanda when did you start using the pillows?

About 3 months ago, when the babies were 10 or 11 weeks old.

Wynston · 12/04/2020 17:45

My dc had torticollis so his little head would fall to one side.
We had a physio referral and the lady who saw us was amazing.
She went through all the options open to us including the helmet.
I made sure that there was no medical affect like loss of hearing or impaired vision and was only cosmetic before making the decision to continue with the physio only.
I was pretty fanatical with keeping up with the exercises as I was hopeful of avoiding surgery.
For us it was the right decision.
He is 8 now and its only if i stand above him and look down I see the head is out of alignment.
I remember like you feeling really awful......this feeling never leaves you. Its part and parcel of motherhood I have decided.
All I would say is be mindful of what a private specialist will say-they want to make money like any business.

Wynston · 12/04/2020 17:49

Also i used a matress called clevafoam.

cactus2020 · 12/04/2020 18:00

Leave it be for.now. my child had a very flattened head and I noticed online companies offering assessment and reshaping helmets etc. Regular NHS paeds said lots of adults are walking around with funny shaped heads hidden under hair! Nothing to worry about unless his development is affected. Run it by HV/GP when you are able but don't spend a penny on private treatment. Paeds told me in the US reshaping heads cosmetically is lucrative and unnecessary.

MrsLJ2014 · 12/04/2020 18:04

We had free NHS physiotherapy to loosen some neck muscles and now you wouldn't notice on my 5 year old that he once had a flat side.

Hoggleludo · 12/04/2020 18:09

I would ring the gp they are still dealing with things other than covid. I had a kidney infection which required hospitalisation sadly. But without my gp. I would of left it.

NoMorePoliticsPlease · 12/04/2020 18:15

No No No dont go there. Of course the sutures havent fused that will be 18 months. This is not a syndrome or a disease, it is just a squash head, not sure where you get all the causes from. It is not something you have done and virtually all children self corret. There are some sharks out there who will fill your head full of nonsense

NoMorePoliticsPlease · 12/04/2020 18:16

DONT USE PILLOWS

LabiaMinoraPissusFlapus · 12/04/2020 18:18

A good cranial osteopath will likely help, along with loads of supervised tummy time. Plagiocephaly is something I am interested in as a midwife. I see lots of older children with it and personally feel it is important to address. My friend is a chiropractor and sees some young adults with it and feels it may impact them in the longer term, and not just cosmetically.

THNG5 · 12/04/2020 18:21

I had this with my first. Same as you, forceps delivery. The two things that worked wonders for him were seeing a cranial osteopath who unblocked his neck and I bought a special mattress called sleep curve I seem to remember. I also bought a small heart shaped pillow for when he was in the pram, on the playmat etc. He's now 3 and a bit and his head is absolutely fine.
I would be wary about the specialist. I looked into helmets and it seemed that the reason the nhs don't provide them is that the help they give is minimal, if at all. Now, that's just from my internet research and no way a scientific fact but definitely do your research before parting with any money.

dontdisturbmenow · 12/04/2020 18:22

My eldest DS had this really bad, so bad that he was sent for a scan of his head. All was normal. I was reassured his head would go round.

Sure enough, it did and became even very round. with ds2, it was so bad on the side that his smile was loopy and his ears were not at the same level. Again I was reassured and once again, his head reshaped itself and became all normal again by the time he was walking.

I do feel sorry for all those babies who gave to endure helmets for weeks or months to do what would happen naturally without it.

CaryStoppins · 12/04/2020 18:22

Isn't cranial osteopathy a total 'woo' thing like homeopathy and crystal healing? All about feeling rhythms in the skull...

CaryStoppins · 12/04/2020 18:25

@dontdisturbmenow but it doesn't happen naturally for all children if there are ten year olds with flat heads, struggling to get bike helmets to fit or glasses to stay on because their ears aren't level...

awkwardbuttons · 12/04/2020 18:57

We use the heart shaped pillow (JoJo sell it) for daytime back time when awake like playmat, change mat, etc. Always use a carrier instead of the pram and try to ensure at least 2 naps a day are in the pram too. All this has really helped.