Sad, baby son has turned in foot - advice?

[Mnk711]

Hi all,

My 9m DS has a turned in foot and his leg appears perhaps a bit twisted, have been like this since birth. I thought that this would resolve once he started walking but nursery now say they're worried and I need to take him yo the doctor.

Anyone have any advice on what the cause might be? Googling suggests club foot but it also says everywhere that this would be identified at birth which it wasn't. We've seen probably 20 midwives and health visitor a few times plus GP and no one has flagged it.

I'm worried I've left my poor little boy untreated when I should have been chasing this up earlier, and now he might suffer more as a result 😭

Have you seen the GP more than once recently? If not you could book an appointment for piece of mind. I just wanted to say my little girl, my little girl was the same, she was delayed in her walking a little which made me even more worried. I think they call it intoeing but my little girl would do it slightly with one foot / leg. I made sure she always had proper fitting shoes from Clark’s as she grew up, especially when she started walking properly. She did actually grow out of it at around 2.5/3? Now she’s 5 and no issues at all, very active and sporty. I think it’s quite normal , especially while they are finding their feat and before they are walking properly x

I took my son to the doctors several times as he had very turned in feet. They assured me he would grow out of it - and he did!

My son had an internally rotated hip which affected his whole leg but it was the foot you noticed. We didn't pick it up for months.

Other than a specially made insole (when he was about 5) to encourage him to straighten his gait, we were advised to leave well alone.

Sure enough, he's fine.

Try not to worry and talk to your gp.

My sister was advised the same with her daughter, that she would 'grow out of it', but she never did. In her teens she was diagnosed with a twisted femur, so her whole leg is twisted. She is in her early 20's now with a noticeably different gait, hip and back pain when she walks too much.

Try to get in to see a specialist.

My nephew has this. Wasn’t picked up during his checks either. They had to really push for a referral.

Hes currently having physio and if that doesn’t help a splint. He’s starting to try standing and going over on to the side of his foot.

Get a GP appointment and ask for a referral to an appropriately qualified paediatrician.

Why would you trust midwives and health visitors with specialist clinical care? Of course they haven't picked up anything, they are nurses.

Thanks all for the advice. I have a GP appointment for next week and will ask for a referral. @RosesAndHellebores I guess I feel there were lots of opportunities for medical staff to pick it up as it is very noticeable and this kind of thing is one midwives etc are supposed to notice. But hopefully a specialist will be able to help us.

@Mnk711 did you draw it to their attention? To be fair midwives didn't notice ds1 was back to back, had the cord wrapped around his neck and was in deep trouble. He survived because DH demanded a Dr the third time the heartbeat went flat, according to the midwife l, because the monitor/belt were faulty. The HV was worse and unable to answer any questions.

I think it's important to remember they are nurses and many are neither good nor very interested. Some are of course.

Any worries, always see a doctor.

Have you considered osteopathy? I believe they can help children with similar problems.

My baby was the same. We went to the drop in clinic and the health visitor made a referral to physio. They saw us and thought it was her hip but after further assessment said they felt it would rectify as she got older but to not worry if she didn't walk until closer to the age of 2. She walked at 16 months and no issues at all with her foot now.

@RosesAndHellebores I did discuss it with both the midwife and the health visitor but I can't remember what they said now, it was so long ago. But definitely along the lines of 'don't worry about it.' Shocking re the cord and your baby, my friend was told all was well with her baby though she knew it wasn't as baby had been breech in all her recent midwife appointments. Then the cord started hanging out of her and initially they still didn't react, until a doctor came and got her sent straight for an emergency c-section.

I know in the scheme of things this is very small but I'm just worried my baby will end up with long term damage because I did nothing. Anyway doctor next week, hopefully some answers.

I had turned in feet when I was born, and a psychic lady turned around and said I'd be exceptionally lucky, which I must admit I have been.

I had to wear special shoes to turn the feet in and they did do.

These were prescribed by the drs from my recollection in the 1980s.

@App13 I had turned in feet too. My parents had it checked out in the 60s and no problems. However, I have been remarkably lucky too!

My youngest was diagnosed with positional talipes (clubfoot due to the position he was lying in in the womb) in his right foot, I hadn't noticed and several midwives and a paediatrician hadn't noticed but the senior midwife who did his baby check before we left hospital highlighted it to me and told me to tickle the side of his foot during nappy changes to remind him to straighten it. It wasn't obvious as a baby but I've noticed now he is walking that it still slightly turns in especially when he is tired.

I've done a good bit of googling and apparently most of the time it rectifies itself if it's mild by the age of about 3. No one has ever mentioned it to me since and he walks and runs fine generally, I've just noticed the slight turn in occasionally. Hopefully the GP can either put your mind at ease or refer to a specialist if needed.

@Mnk711 if you discussed it with the midwife and hv and dilthey did nothing, it isn't possible anything of concern is your fault

It's likely there isn't a problem and if there is, at such a young age, it can be put right.

Hopefully the little lad is blessed with luck.

I had turned-in feet as a young child - I had to have the soles of my shoes built up for a while, but that corrected it entirely. No problems since.

Update, took him to the GP and she said she thinks he's probably fine but has referred him to the paediatric orthopaedic specialist as she thinks there's a small chance he has hip dysplasia. Really hoping that isn't the case as if he does he could have qoen a brace for a few weeks as a younger baby but would now need a full body plaster cast for 12 weeks 😱Good news she thinks he's probably OK but a bit worrying still.