8wk old with hip problem because of breach

[sophiad]

Hi all
Been to hospital for an ultrasound with my 8 week old DD because she was born breach. They've seen that her left hip socket has a small problem and next week she will have to start wearing a harness that holds her legs in a frog like position for at least 4 weeks. I was wondering if anyone has had this with their little one and how they got on etc with it. It was really a shock and I feel so sad for her, but they're confident she won't need too long in the harness and her hip should get better very quickly, fingers crossed

breech sorry

DD (now 6) had this - developmental dysplasia of the hip/DDH or clicky hip. She wore a Pavlik harness for 2 months, from exactly 8 weeks old, and all was fine after that. She still gets a hip xray every year to check that she's growing properly etc but the consultant said he normally discharges at 7, so I'm assuming that this year will be the last time she'll need to go.

It looks really uncomfortable, but DD didn't seem bothered by the harness, and it didn't affect her sleep (which I was very worried about!). It was a bit fiddly to manage, and she pretty much only wore dresses in a size or two bigger than normal until it came off, because they were easiest to manage. We used a folded towel in the base of her carseat and pushchair, to boost her up a bit so that the sticky out legs didn't get in the way. You have to keep a good eye on them though as where their legs are held in one position, they can get sores etc - we had a community nurse visiting once a week to check her over and change the harness (we were not supposed to adjust it ourselves).

HTH.

My sister who is 14 years now had this and wore a pavlik harness too. From what I can remember, she wore it a lot until 4 months and then a bit until 6 months. She's absolutely fine now, no problems at all and it seems like a very short time in the grand scheme of things! I remember that she wore a lot of dresses too and that it was a similar time of year to this. I guess there is an advantage that she was a girl and it was over the summer months!
Hope the treatment goes well and the problem is fixed as quickly as possible

DS now 3 was also put on the harness at 3 weeks, he was also a breech baby. He had it on for 3 months, 24/7 and then moved on for 2 months of wearing a double nappy. He's now 3 and has been discharged, doctor only wants to see him again at 5 years old.

Honestly, the harness is a pain, but I guess more for us parents that for the kids...they really get used to it quickly and they will never remember it later on. It's hard on the parents firstly because its just not lice to look at, then it's quite hard to wash them, fiddly to change nappies (though in less than 2 days you'll master it). Keep in mind this will be for the best and it will probably solve your DD problem so you don't have more serious problems later on.

Couple of tips...keep some socks over the harness, especially during nappy change...if a slippery foot lands on the number 2 it dosen't dirty the harness!

My daughter who is 4 had this on for 16 weeks, and after the initial shock of it you'll be fine. You'll master changing nappies and the likes after a few days and don't worry your wee one will take it all in her stride.

Means she'll be in dresses for the short term too, and baby grows a size too big....