ventouse deliveryand or flat spots - any repercussions?

[runikka]

Hi there

Wondering if any mums here had babies that seemed to have ongoing issues from having a ventouse delivery. Our little man is currently being assessed for a social communication disorder as he is 2.1 years and has limited speech. He was born by ventouse and there didn't seem to be any problems at the time, grumpy for the first day or so but fit and healthy. However, he did develop a flat spot on his head from preferring to sleep in a certain position. The HV said not to worry and that it was only cosmetic. My concern now is that it isn't and that maybe we should have had it looked at. I dont know enough about either to know if that could be the cause of his problems now. Does anyone know if there is research available or themselves had issues with their child?

Regards
Kirsty

Hi runikka

Have you tried a cranial osteopath, they are experts at detecting any stress in the skull which may possibly have resulted from the ventouse. I took my son when he was 2 months old after ventouse just to get him checked over and it was really reassuring. Cranial osteopaths have an impressive list of difficulties they can treat including behavioural and emotional problems, not sure if this helps.

Kirsty
My 7 yr old has had regular cranial osteopathy over the last year.

He was born by ventouse and was my first child so didn't really have anyone to compare him to but he didn't seem an overly difficult baby.

However, at preschool they thought that he had problems with winning and losing, turn-taking and other social skills. He was put on the special needs register by his preschool on a low level (just monitored internally at preschool and now school).
This has continued at school. He is not very good at losing at games or in sport, although he is very good at sport itself!

About a year ago someone recommended a cranial osteopath and it transpired that his skull was very compressed and he also has an ongoing problem with his neck. They have released the compression on his skull (compared to wearing a very tight hat 24 hours a day) and now he goes for regular 'top-up's'. He is much less fidgety, concentrates more and is better in general at the winning and losing.

Hope this helps!

Mel

Where is the flat spot?

Hi Runika

If the flat spot is where he placed his head on the mattress (ie at the back if he slept on his back) it sounds as though your son has plagiocephaly which is related to sleeping in the same position all the time. If you google it you should find some more information, but as far as I know it isn't related to developmental problems.

2.1 seems very young to be assessed because of limited speech. Does he have any other problems or indications that he might have a social communication disorder?

Plagiocephaly IS NOT cosmetic.

Hi there

many thanks for your replies. His flat spot is on the back of his to the left and yes, corresponds to how he slept as a young baby. He has slept mostly on his tummy ever since he has been old enough to roll over though.

With regards to the social communication, he is a real cheeky little chap and really interacting with us at the moment but at his assessment didn't understand "give me the car" type commands, apparently was behind in his play skills (we hadn't noticed this. He also doesn't point things out and has "lost" verbal skills rather than gained and can be very sensitive, in his own world. He is being assessed to see if he is on the autistic spectrum but a lot of things dont entirely add up such as the fact that he is very tactile, affectionate, sleeps well, eats well, notices our presence (too much sometimes as has been prone to very clingy spells) amongst other things. The consultant said he is a real mixed bag which makes it harder to know what is going on. I guess my instinct tells me there is a possibility he is on the spectrum somewhere but I am currently looking at all possibilities and ways to help him

Hi there

many thanks for your replies. His flat spot is on the back of his to the left and yes, corresponds to how he slept as a young baby. He has slept mostly on his tummy ever since he has been old enough to roll over though.

With regards to the social communication, he is a real cheeky little chap and really interacting with us at the moment but at his assessment didn't understand "give me the car" type commands, apparently was behind in his play skills (we hadn't noticed this. He also doesn't point things out and has "lost" verbal skills rather than gained and can be very sensitive, in his own world. He is being assessed to see if he is on the autistic spectrum but a lot of things dont entirely add up such as the fact that he is very tactile, affectionate, sleeps well, eats well, notices our presence (too much sometimes as has been prone to very clingy spells) amongst other things. The consultant said he is a real mixed bag which makes it harder to know what is going on. I guess my instinct tells me there is a possibility he is on the spectrum somewhere but I am currently looking at all possibilities and ways to help him

;( You are describing a lot about my son.

should have been

dd1 was a very complicated ventouse and forceps delivery with lots of bruising and swelling to the head

she has regular cranial osteopathy and always improves at school for about 6 months afterwards (she is mildly dyselxic, dyspraxic we think). she is 7 now.

she was also a very clingy, highly senstive baby

Thanks again for your replies. We have an appointment with an osteopath next week so we'll give that a go - the osteopath was very positive on the phone. I am a little apprehensive as Daniel isn't brilliant with strangers but we need to try or we'll never know.

NAB3 tell me more about your little boy.

Best Regards
Kirsty

What do you want to know?

Hi there

NAB3, I just wondered what the background was to your little boy as I took from the face that you are unhappy with his development. I didn't mean to pry and understand if you'd rather not day - was just curious if you were going through a similar situation to us.

Hello

DS2 is my third child. I lost his twin. DS2 had problems in the womb and was thought to have Edward's Syndrome for a while. He had a traumatic delivery and we both nearly didn't make it. He is 18 months now and I have always felt there is something not quite right. Compared to his siblings he is very behind in his speech. He has about 2 words and has stopped saying another 2 he did have. The post about being very affectionate, easy going, good eater and sleeper describes him totally. He was deaf in the beginning due to his body shutting down as a result of his traumatic start to life and only settled more after cranio osteopath treatment. There is also a good chance I had conceived twice, a single and then twins, as well as DS2 being 4 weeks overdue, and not the 10 days early the hospital said. I just have a feeling I can't shake. I am taking him for some more cranio treatment tomorrow as it can't do any harm and he isn't having any of his jabs until we know for sure if there is anything wrong. At the hospital on Tuesday for an eye test the medic commented on him having almond shaped eyes. I mentioned about the ES and he said another thing he has as well as the eye shape, is common in children with Down's Syndrome and that we would probably know by now if he had it, it is not up to him to say whether he has.

Thank you NAB3. I can see you have had a rough time of it and am sorry to hear of your loss and traumatic birth experience. Your little boy sounds lovely I appreciate you have reason for concerns after a bumpy start but hope your fears go on to be unfounded. 18 months is still very young but I guess that was only six months ago for us and we were also starting to have concerns at that time. I guess with our little boy, he is just starting to show an understanding of certain key words so we have hope. Everyone has told us not to worry about the speech as such but it has always been the understanding that really bothered us - that aside he is true delight. I hope your appointment goes well and will update everyone as to how ours goes next week!

Take Care
Kirsty