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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

Flat head syndrome

19 replies

SusieR · 14/09/2006 13:26

Hi,

My DS1 is starting to get a bit of a flat head from lying in the same position. He's 8 weeks now. My DH thinks I'm being paranoid but I'm desperate to dry and stop it from getting worse. I've just ordered a baby support boulder to put in his cot. Has anyone any experience with this????

Any advice gratefully received.
Sue xx

OP posts:

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castlesintheair · 14/09/2006 13:57

Hi Susie
Yes - my DS aged 4 still has a bit of a flat head but you can't really see it through his mop of hair. I later found out that part of his head had fused in the womb so all my attempts were pointless. This is very rare by the way and it is unlikely to have happened with your DS.

I was paranoid with DD so I bought a "secure sleeper" from JoJo Maman Bebe but you can get them from lots of other places. It is a foamy flat pillow with side supports for the body. I used to place her to sleep on her side and the supports stopped her rolling onto her front. Her head is fine.

I know loads of children who were like your DS and even without any action their heads have pretty much filled out so don't worry too much.

bababoo · 14/09/2006 14:02

Hi, congrats on your new arrival! my DS didn't have this but my friend's does, i think maybe because my DS has always slept with his head to one side while on his back (i don't know if this is totally in line with recommendations but he wouldn't sleep any other way), and her HV has said it's normal. I heard an article on the radio about it the other day too, it will correct itself naturally within a year apparently, and you should definitely still put your baby to sleep on their back. But I would say if it's worrying you to go and see your doctor/HV, they won't mind and you'll feel much better for the reasurrance.If you're really concerned you should definitely see someone about it, even though it's probably nothing. Hope it sorts itself soon

myermay · 14/09/2006 14:08

Message withdrawn

myermay · 14/09/2006 14:11

Message withdrawn

raggybaggy · 14/09/2006 14:25

Hi SusieR,

Flat headedness is a recognised problem called plagiocephaly. My baby had a flat head as from birth he always slept with his head on one side. This is often common with large or tall babies and is more often seen in boys than girls. Theory is that when squashed up inside the womb, the baby's head is not straight and ligaments in the neck become longer on one side than on the other. This is why baby will favour sleeping with head on one side.

If caught early enough, the problem can be corrected by doing some simple exercises with your baby to help lenghten the shorter ligaments on one side.

Do not believe what many Dr's and HV's say about it getting better by itself - it won't. You need to take action to sort it out. I repeatedly went to 2 GP's and 3 HV's and a paediatrician who all said I was making a fuss about nothing. It's a relatively new /newly recognised condition and treatment is only offered by a handful of NHS trusts in the UK, most don't recognise it at all.

In the end I contacted a charity called headstart4babies. My baby was 10 months old by this time with a really flat head that also caused his forehead to bulge forward on one side. My baby had what's known as "helmet therapy" - it's a plastic helmet with a foamy interior specially moulded for your baby. As his head grows, the helmet applies gentle pressure that pushes his soft skull back into a more symmetrical shape.
We were warned that the therapy might not be very helpful as ds was quite old, but the results were really good - not perfect but massive improvement. DS had to wear the helmet for about 16 weeks, 23 hours a day.

As your baby is still so young, you maybe able to avoid helmet therapy and just do the exercises that will encourage him to sleep with his head in different positions.
Check out this website:
\link{http://www.headstart4babies.co.uk}

and this article on the BBC website:
\link{http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/conditions/plagiocephaly2.shtml}
and there are other websites that can help if you type plagiocephaly into google.
Really hope you manage to sort something out for your ds, but don't just leave it and trust the GP like I did...

Raggybaggyx

beautifulgirls · 14/09/2006 14:27

Hi - we noticed the same with our DD at about 8wks old and made real efforts to ensure she didn't always lay on the same side - we would turn her in the cot head the other end each night so she would look to the light alternately, we'd gently move her head if necessary when she fell asleep, and lots of tummy time. She is now 5.5months and her head is absolutely fine without us needing to do anything.

I have a friend whose little boy needed to wear a helmet and she was so grateful she got the info and got him fitted. (about 11months old)

myermay · 14/09/2006 14:32

Message withdrawn

myermay · 14/09/2006 14:32

Message withdrawn

beckybrastraps · 14/09/2006 14:36

My dd has a flat head. It will be covered by her hair, just as ds's flat head is covered by his.

Both of mine had LOADS of tummy time, but heads stayed flat. Dh has a flat head too, so I'm not convinced there isn't some heriditary factor involved.

There has been an awful lot about this recently, so much so that a strange women (in both senses of the word) felt able to come up to me and commiserate on my dd's "deformity". She had read about it in the paper. Did I think it was linked to my dd not being able to talk yet? I explained that it was entirely cosmetic, and would soon be covered by her hair anyway. She told me about the helmets and said what a shame dd was too old. I was angry beyond belief. The helmets are valuable in severe cases, but dd is NOT a severe case, and it would have been entirely inappropriate for her. I'm glad there is information available now about positioning and tummy time, but it can also become yet another thing to panic over. Your ds is young. I'm sure positioning will do just fine. Good luck!

castlesintheair · 14/09/2006 15:01

Couldn't agree with you more Beckybrastraps! I think it could be genetic - my FIL is greek & I noticed that his head is flatter than most northern europeans. My HV told me when DS was 8 months old that he could have an operation to basically split his skull open and realign it. She said he would thank us when he was 18! As you can imagine, we were horrified, so was the paed when we saw him & he told us we had no right to put our son's life at risk purely for cosmetic purposes. Sorry if I sound a bit ranty but I see so many slightly odd shaped/flat heads (you notice it when you have a dc like it yourself) and in my opinion there are far worse things to worry about. I was talking to my neighbour yesterday and her 3 year old son has half his brain & one eye missing and it's a miracle he's alive let alone starting to walk and talk.

Original poster

SusieR · 14/09/2006 16:27

Thanks for all your replies. DD1 has a slight flat head but has much improved with age. And at least she can have long hair to cover what remains.
I am especially worried about DS1 as I've noticed it when he is so young. But I WILL try the repositioning. HV suggested sticking something under his shoulder to try and make him look the other way. I will also try some of your suggestions.

OP posts:

ck1 · 16/09/2006 09:37

If you want helpful advice and information about positional plagiocephaly, or want tips on repositioning or repo product ideas, the Plagio UK support group might be worth looking at:
groups.msn.com/PlagioUK

aitch71 · 16/09/2006 10:08

my friend's husband still has a slightly wonky-shaped head at the back, he has no developmental issues that i can see...
however, he was bullied about it at school (kids will pick on anything) and is now increasingly self-conscious about it because he is losing his hair so it's becoming more obvious.
my dd has a slightly flattened head, but tbh so do my husband and i, so it's hard to say what's caused it as she's always slept in a hammock which is supposed to be good for preventing flattening.

Kelly1978 · 16/09/2006 10:18

Hello.
Both my dts have plagiocephaly, from spending too much time in their car seats. I didn't notice it until they were much older than your ds and so although dt2's head has rounded out, dt1 still has a very flat head. I do think you need to see your GP just to rule out premature fusing and confirm that it is plagiocephaly. I repositioned my dts with blankets with a little success. I did consider the helmets, but plagio is a cosmetic condition and for my dts I didn't think that they should be put in helmets for 23 hours a day. Dt1 is still very noticeable but I don't regret that decision. There is a fair bit of ocntroversy over the helmets and whether it is right to put babies in them, and for parents to be forkign out hundreds of pounds for helmets. They are not available on the NHS.

lrwg · 16/09/2006 10:21

Have a look at www.goigoibabypillows.co.uk We were concerned about DD's head as at a similar age to your DS her head started to flatten. We bought the pillow and I'm pleased to say that whilst her head has not got any better, it has defiitely not got any worse.

Try the repositioning - our DD would only look to the left but after a weekend of persistently putting her toys, Daddy, etc on the right she soon changed her tune.

I'll keep using the pillow until she decides to roll - not showing any signs of wanting to yet at 18 weeks - and sleep on her front. She loathes tummy time, but I've found that an inflatable nest makes her much happier than just putting her on the floor on her tumy.

Good luck and do try not to worry too much (easier said than done, I know).

lrwg · 16/09/2006 10:24

Forgot to say, our HV was horrified that we'd bought a pillow and said "we don't do that in this country", but if we did/didn't do EVERYTHING they recommend then life would be almost impossible to live IMO.

aitch71 · 16/09/2006 10:45

lwrg, my dd screamed every time i put her on her tummy but one trip to the cranio-sacral therapist (and one adjustment - yikes) put her right and that evening she was on her tummy as happy as larry.

aitch71 · 16/09/2006 10:52

PS dd's flat head wasn't what sent me to the cranio-sacral person, it's not that bad really. CS was another of the long list of things i tried in my quest to breastfeed... but the tummy time thing was a bonus.

jabberwocky · 16/09/2006 10:53

SusieR, my ds had a form of plagio called scaphiocephaly caused by being breech for a very long time. We did agressive position therapy and it has rounded out nicely. You really do have to stay on top of this, though. I believe around 6 months is the time period to consider a helmet if it hasn't improved significantly.

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