Plagiocephaly (flat head syndrome)

[Bubble92]

Hi,

After some advice please... There are other threads on this but they all seem a few years old and I wondered if anyone has some more up to date experience.

My son is 6.5 months. When he was born he tended to look right. His neck was checked though and no problems found. We first noticed his flat spot around 8 weeks so have been repositioning/doing lots of tummy time/putting all his toys on the left etc. We've noticed a bit of improvement, particularly when he began rolling and now that he is sitting up. He often sleeps on the left side now. Health visitors and gps say it will round out more but that he probably will still have a tiny flat spot. Their line seems to be that helmets are cruel, expensive and unnecessary. However, I am concerned that it hasn't improved much and the older he gets the less effective a helmet will be.

I took him to LOC London Orthotic Consultancy and they confirmed he is in the 'severe' category (15mm) at the moment although it doesn't effect his face much at all. He's seeing a pediatrician in Dec (though I'm trying to get this appointment sooner).

What are your experiences? Have your babies' heads rounded out without helmets? Has anyone had experience of the LOC London Orthotic Consultancy or any other clinic that provide helmets?

I feel a bit alone in this, like others think I am making a fuss about nothing. Some days I look at him and think it's hardly noticeable. Other times it seems so obvious. I wish I had done more earlier and feel guilty about that...it sounds stupid now but we're first time parents and just didn't realise what an issue this is. We're also worried about funding the helmet if we go for that option.

Any advice and experience would be massively appreciated. Thanks!

Dear Bubble,

Our twins were both treated by the LOC clinic for severe braciocephaly (flat head at the back rather than on one side). Like you, we were extremely nervous about whether to go through with it and felt guilty that we hadn't done more to 'correct' it earlier. They were also 6.5 months when they started treatment and wore the helmets for 7 months in total. Overall I can honestly say that the helmets were far less stressful than we thought. Yes, there were days/times when they irritated them and yes you get A LOT of stares/questions/judgements, but hand on heart, I am so glad we did it. We always said that if it came to the point where they upset them we would take them off, which started to happen around the 13 month mark. My partner and I disagreed on whether to keep them on for longer (be prepared for this) so had to come to a compromise. I wanted to keep them on to get the best results possible but he was fed of "cuddling a bowling ball" lol - which it can feel like at times.
It wasn't easy, but they are now 22 months old and I can barely remember them wearing them. We are very happy with the results and would do the same thing again without a doubt. The LOC clinic were fantastic but just prepare yourself for the judgmental opinions of others....
Best of luck with your decision

I forgot to say that the rounding out was successful but the particular type of flat head syndrome that they had is the hardest to treat. However, we are very happy with the results and after 7 months of treatments both had been reduced to "mild braciocephaly" - only 2mm off "normal" - which we decided we were happy with.

My daughter had this very noticeably and torticollis, we had cranial osteopathy twice and nhs physio and tummy time. The thing is, 50% of flat heads i think? self correct, and with a good portion of the others by the time the head and the hair has grown you wouldn't notice - i have no idea if my daughter still has a flat spot.

We used loc for my daughter (after meeting with another company in central London too). They were fine and the helmet helped in terms of measurements (moderate plagio and brachy down to 1mm and 84%)...she started the helmet at 7 months and we were mostly compliant with treatment over a very hot summer (about 12 weeks). I still think her head looks a bit odd and I suffer with guilt about it happening and stopping treatment too soon. In retrospect, I would use loc again (they were super responsive to issues like redness) but wished I asked more questions, understood more about how her head was visually different from the ‘norm’ and got greater guidance from loc about stopping or not. Wishing you all the best.

Have you tried cranial osteopathy? My son would only lie with his head to the left and started to get a flat spot as a result. The osteopathy helped to loosen his neck and this helped massively. Once babies start to roll there tends to be less pressure on the one area and it improves on its own which is why NHS are often reluctant to take remedial treatment

My 10 week old son has this issue too but due to torticollus which luckily is now much better. I slept him on his non preferred aide but now he's going flat there too! Just bought one of those Swedish pillows and night order a tortle too. The helmets are so expensive aren't they! I do think more info should be given on this at antenatal classes etc.