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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 in babies - had any success repositioning?

44 replies

LooseyC · 22/05/2008 20:13

Our 5 month old DS has positional plagiocephaly (flat head syndrome) caused by sleeping on one side when he was very young - apparently getting more common now since the 'back to sleep' campaign re SIDS.

We have been advised by the physio to try repositioning him on the other side to even it out especially during sleep time, but after about a month aren't noticing any difference really. I've been reading some hints and tips on the web but it is very tricky!

Has anyone been able to make a difference to their baby's head shape this way, or seen it get better with time?

I'm not sure I believe it will improve on it's own, but really want to avoid getting one of those helmets if we can...

OP posts:

KatyH · 22/05/2008 22:18

My dd used to thrash about too but I solved that by swaddling her...reeeeally tightly! Poor wee scone, she was like a little mummy. Maybe not for everyone but she also had eczema so it served the dual purpose of stopping her scratching. Oh what fun those days were!

I also agree with EachPeach, I see flatheaded kids everywhere now!! Maybe in the future round heads will be considered unusual...???

ScarletPimpernel1976 · 22/05/2008 22:47

I don't think a GP could add anything - to be honest, mine didn't really know very much about the condition and had to look it up ion the computer (this is the doctor that does all the baby checks at the surgery!!). I went to a CO at the Active Birth Centre in London where there are three who specialise in treating pregnant and post natal women and their babies so do a lot of flat head work! I'd definately recommend them if you are anywhere near North London. My CO actually said she thought the helmets worked but that they were very expensive and have to be worn 23 out of 24 hours a day so most people only consider them in the most severe cases.

slinkiemalinki · 23/05/2008 00:28

I spotted a mild flatness at 4 months - the repo only worked once I bought the goi goi pillow I'm afraid - also used sling more like someone else recommended. Totally went on its own and fairly swiftly too.

NotABanana · 23/05/2008 07:10

LooseyC

We started on our daughter at 9 month (too late in theory) as the GP kept saying she woul dbe fine. Eventually we saw a consultant who dx something else (but wrote it in her red book, didn't tell us) and we organised a private appointment in Harley Street.

Her assymetry went from 1.7cm to 0.7cm in 1 month and by the end of a further 2 months she was 0.3cm. The Doctor in Harley Street was so amazed at the improvement he wrote a paper on her!

NotABanana · 23/05/2008 07:14

MY DD had a double whammy as she was hypotonic as well, so it was never going to sort itself out when she sat up, as she couldn't sit up, and she didn't have a flat head because of laying on it.

There is no way of knowing whether it is flat head due to lying on it or flat head due to plagio, and there is a fairly small window of opportunity to try and help.

merryberry · 23/05/2008 07:46

osteopath did it for us with ds1. also treated ds2 rrecently, no sign of problem occuring this time.

Original poster

LooseyC · 23/05/2008 08:57

Thanks loads ladies. NotABanana - I presume that improvement was with a helmet? Glad it worked so well for you.

KatyH, you had a bit of a time of it! I don't think DS would take well to swaddling at this stage as he likes to kick his legs and would throw a wobbly if we tried it I think. Slinkiemalinki I'll look into those pillows too, thanks.

Do you get a referral to a cranial osteopath or do you have to find one yourself? We are in Oxfordshire so don't know if anyone can recommend one round here?

OP posts:

ConnorTraceptive · 23/05/2008 09:35

I would find your own cranial osteopath.

You might want to consider a sleepcurve mattress for the cot.

DS was 8 months when we got his helmet and I regret waiting as he had to wear it for 6 months.

NotABanana · 23/05/2008 10:35

Yes, there is no way it would have improved without the helmet. Over time it was getting worse.

We went to a CO with our next child to check if he had plagio too. We had no faith in our GP so didn't bother. We had to pay £30 for the first session and £25 for each subsequent one. He didn't have plagio but he did have other problems which the CO treatment helped with immensely.

I just want to say if your child has a flat head because of lying flat a lot, then it should sort itself out once they are sitting. However, there is no way of knowing whether this is going to happen or whether the head is flat due to plagio.

wildfish · 23/05/2008 10:48

You handy with a sewing machine? Make a long pillow, fill with small balls (styrene type, seed size, lentil size, hey even lentils). Then at bed time you push all the balls to one side (majority) so you have an unbalanced pillow, curve it round the sleeping head. It encourages for comfort the baby to sleep on the other side. But its not so fixed as to cause a total night uncomfort. And yes it will make a difference.

Brought to you by the ancients - ok my mum

ConnorTraceptive · 23/05/2008 12:25

Notabanana: I'm confused, plagiocephaly is the medical term for a flat head not the cause?

If the head flat because of position or torticollis it is still plagiocephaly isn't it?

I agree though there is absolutely no way of being certain it will round out in time. That's why we went for a helmet.

NotABanana · 23/05/2008 12:54

Sorry, I have confused you, reading your point I may have confused myself!

We now know that DD had a problem with her neck and if we had known that and done exercises she would maybe not have needed the helemt.

I think the point is some babies have the flat head through nothing other than lying flat and that is why it sorts itself out when they sit up.

If there is more to it, it won't sort itself out when they sit up.

My DD didn't sit until 9 months and she had the helmet from 10-13months.

Original poster

LooseyC · 23/05/2008 20:40

Wildfish - that's great but not sure my craft skills are up to it! Someone else recommended a bath sponge cut into a wedge to keep him on one side and my hacked up attempt just went in the bin...

Notabanana - that does make sense now. DS is just flat from lying one side and his neck muscles are fine. Reading all this I'm going to persevere with the repositioning with all these tips for a while and hopefully see CO and see how it goes. I was worried we'd run out of time but think will keep going for a bit longer.

OP posts:

wulfricsmummy · 23/05/2008 21:18

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

probablyaslytherin · 23/05/2008 22:49

This explains it:www.bbc.co.uk/health/conditions/plagiocephaly2.shtml

Ds2's squint head was very pronounced. Children at ds1's nursery even commented on it - to the embarrassment of the staff.

We were referred to the Consultant by the GP. He said he'd seen lots since lying down to sleep on backs started. He also pointed out that many adults have funny shaped heads, but others generally don't notice as hair covers it. I don't think helmets had been invented at that time (14 years ago). Ds2's head gradually rounded out and you'd never know now.

The point is, people who decide against a helmet can say "It worked for us just letting it round out on its own", whereas people who go for the helmet will never know whether it was necessary or not, will they? It might have happened spontaneously for all they know.

(Unless like notabanana, they got a helmet because rounding out wasn't working.)

littleboyblue · 26/05/2008 23:16

My son has this. It's quite bad as it's the whole of the back of his head that's flat. I wasn't too concerned about it really, not sure why but I just wasn't, although I mentioned it to a few different HV and 1 said it coz laying on backs now, but wouldn't all babies have it? I couldn't reposition as gravity would roll his head back over. Now he older (9mnth) he sleeping on his side so hoping it'll correct itself. Not sure if I like the idea of a helmet, does it not affect head control? and as it is purely cosmetic, does it really matter? Completely different if it had an affect on brain developement but it doesn't.

DforDiva · 26/05/2008 23:36

i used nothing than re pos. with dd, bt this time around with ds i bought goi goi pillows. it s good. i bought sleepcurve but ds did not like since he started moving his ehad about. was ok when baby. 5m is still young you can do things to improve. i alsways regret not doing much with dd. i will probably blame myself all life. check uk plagio website, they are great and try everyhting, good luck.

Original poster

LooseyC · 27/05/2008 14:42

Like you littleboyblue I didn't think anything of it either I until noticed his head was getting a bit cone-shaped (as it's flat on the right side). No HV ever said anything. It wouldn't matter to me if it didn't make him look a bit odd!

I personally don't think there is enough publicity around this and how to prevent it in the first weeks... would really have helped us to have some info early on, DforDiva I don't think we should blame ourselves for something not widely known about (easy to say )

Ww have a physio app in 2 weeks and will see if she thinks we are getting anywhere!

OP posts:

littleboyblue · 27/05/2008 23:29

LooseyC, I completely agree that it should be more publicised. As I imagine with most 1st time mums, I didn't have a clue about anything! And as I had a difficult delivery I was a bit not on this planet to begin with.
DforDiva, you shouldn't blame yourself at all, it's not affecting development. My friends 2 year old has still got flat head but you can't even notice it. I don't blame myself, it just a cosmetic issue that out of our hands now. I had ds at hospital when diagnosed with reflux and dr there said it should sort itself out by 12 months anyway as they start to move around and bones move back into place.

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