Plagiocephaly and delays

[ninafromberlin]

I just read an article that showed babies with plagiocephaly will have cognitive and motor delay, is this true in your experience?

I've not had a baby with Flat Head Syndrome so probably not the best to answer your question.

If your baby has this, are they young enough to get it corrected?

My baby Is 12 weeks.

It is quite pronounced but somewhat suddenly seems to have appeared

At 12 weeks I'm sure it can be corrected. Have you seen your GP?

Not yet will book soon, only just noticed it.

My 4 month old son has plagiocephaly. So far he's way ahead in all his skills; his physiotherapist said this (he's being treated for torticollis). She also said thst plagiochephaly is a cosmetic issue only so don't worry. It is fixable as at that age their heads are growing quickly but you have to be quite conscientious about it.

When you say article do you mean an article linked to a specific piece of scientific research? If do, do you have them reference. Sounds extremely unlikely to me. Or rather, could it be a "correlation" like the not crawling and developmental delays "correlation"?

The correlation thing is a good point - lots of babies with plagiocephaly have it because of torticillis, and tort DOES often cause developmental delays. But plagio ON ITS OWN with no other interfering factors, does not.

@surreygirl1987, when did you first notice the plagiocepahly? Where did you start in seeking treatment? Have you got a helmet? From looking at photos online my DD seems to already have quite a sever case, feeling like a rubbish mum

OP please dont worry. My son has a properly deformed skull (craniosynostosis). It was very noticable at 6mo, not noticable at all by 2 (hair helps).
The neurosurgeon we saw said that although the deformed/flattened areas of skull dont recover (unless broken/surgically repaired) they make up so little of the final percentage of the adult skull that they're not noticable as you get older. I mean, how often do you see an adult and think "goodness what a flat head" ? I don't think I ever have.

If the GP gives you the OK you can get a helmet of course, but Id advise you to save your money.

Thank you @barbarianmum, good point about the skull growing later. I have been worried a DD also seems to have one eye more forward than the other, this might also be cranio from what I understand, when and how did you notice on your DS and get care? We are from Germany, not needed to have much interaction with NHS beside pregnancy.

Ds2's cranio was picked up by a doctor at 6 weeks and he was then referred onward for scans etc. It was only picked up so early because we were in hospital for something else though, it wasnt really v noticable til 3/4 months.

Im sure thst you probably know this but want to post it for anyone that comes across this thread later. Its really, really important to see a doctor and rule out craniosynostosis (premature fusion of the skull sutures) before choosing to treat plagiocephaly w a helmet. Wearing a helmet is incredibly dangerous for babies with craniosynostosis and can cause irreversible damage.

Thank you @barbarianmum, yes I will not but a helmet. Can a GP assess for this or do I need to seek a different person?

A gp wont be able to confirm craniosynostosis but would refer you either directly for a cT scan or to a paediatrian if they suspect a problem. Probably the latter.

But yes in the UK everything is usually via the GP.