Was told little one had slightly warped head when born but when does it imrpove?

[bumbly]

he is now 9 months old and noticed he still has a slightly warped head when you look from above even thought he soleyl sleeps on his belly now and has been sitting for a while

is this bad or normal??

am actually very worried

any info much appreicated

or will he have to wear one of those head sorting belt thingies!!

thank you

we were told that ds3 had a overly large head by the health visitor were sent to the gp who said he didnt see anything wrong with his head,it was measured a few times at the weigh in clinic and was found to be absolutley fine .dont worry too much as he grows it will be less visable.

I don't know what you mean by 'warped' but when DD was born, the back of her head was crooked - one plate of the skull was over the other.

If you look at this photo. The upper left plate was above the upper right one.

Paediatrician said it would probably correct itself by the time she was 2 and did nothing about it. Sure enough, she is now 2.6 and the back of her skull is very smooth

warped = wonky egg shaped

slanting to one side if looking form above

Has he got plagiocephaly?

www.plagiouk.co.uk

He may have deformational plagiocephaly (a baby can have it from birth, but it mainly develops afterwards).

My ds had it and it didn't resolve when he got older like the HVs said it would. In fact, it got progressively worse even after he started sitting/sleeping on his front, etc. He wore a helmet and it made it much better.

dunno, I can only tell you that DS has a very asymmetric head, partly caused by a ventouse delivery and partly caused by having a stiff neck when born and sleeping always on one side which made a flat spot on one side.

It was extremely noticeable between 6 months and a year - much less so now (he's nearly 2). People used to comment on it unprompted, now people other than me find it hard to see what I mean when I tell them about it. So just because it's still wonky at 9 mo, doesn't mean it won't improve naturally.

thanks for that - reassures me!

this is the kind of assymtery i mean

www.rch.org.au/kidsinfo/factsheets.cfm?doc_id=7666

• but to a lesser/milder degree than shown -

is that what your little one had and then improved????

Some babies with plagiocephaly will improve, but not all.

Have a look at the repositioning tips at Plagio UK and see if by using them they make a difference over the coming month or so. If there's no difference with active repositioning, then it's unlikely he will improve much over the coming years spontaneously. Most specialists agree that by one to one and a half, the head shape will change little without active intervention.

Sorry bad link - this is better!

Bumbly - my dd has this too - her head is squint - like your ds it is more notcieable when you look down.

We took her to a cranial osteopath when she was about 3mo - she said that her jaw was misaligned (she used to have a wonky mouth too) - and this has now been straightened up.

Everyone keeps telling me that it will sort itself out as she gets older. So I will watch this thread with interest.

bumbly - No, DD's head was not flattened like that in any direction.

Put your hands side by side. Then push one slightly over the other. That's how the back of her head was. When you felt the back of her head, you would feel this big bump where one plate crossed over the other.

For flattened heads like in the picture, I think you need to get a helmet. They work wonders.

Sometimes it sorts itself out but not always. If you wait and see too long there will be no chance of putting it right.

There are 1000s of posts on plagio.

It is not cosmetic.

bumbly my ds's head was like the one in your link (although not quite as extreme, even at its worst).

It's now slightly asymmetric if you know where to look but I don't think anyone but me could tell and even I now have to look quite hard to work out which side was the wonky side.

I raised it with health professionals at the time and was just told about repositioning, but I have to say I was never very worried about it as it seemed to be improving. If it had affected the symmetry of his face I might have been more concerned but I never even considered a helmet. This is obviously a personal decision for you and your child though, depending on your particular circumstances.

thanks for that young

yes doesnt affect face much but just back and sides a bit!

morning bumbly - I was having a good look at dd's head and face last night to check for wonkiness!! She does have one eye slightly bigger than the other (but then so do I!) - and when she's tired her mouth goes squint - but I think only I can see it because I know what I'm looking for. And her head is flat at the back but on one side so it is still a bit squint!
I reckon once she has some proper hair, it won't be so noticeable!

Hi Bumbly- I bought a special mattress for my baby which is supposed to prevent plagiocephaly and brachycephaly (flat head syndrome). It has a slight dip where the baby's head goes allowing it to move freely and prevent flat spots. My DS is 10 wks today and so far so good. The website is www.sleepcurve.co.uk but you can get the cot mattress toppers from mothercare. They claim to help correct plagiocephaly aswell as prevent it. Might be worth a try. Good Luck!

Sorry, here is the link www.sleepcurve.co.uk

thanks meep and cherry

you are lovely!