Sleepcurve mattress fro flat head

[Emd]

Has anyone used these to rectify babies flat head? if so do they work or are they just a gimmick?

Ds had a very very flat spot on his head. I took him to see a consultant (actually 2 different ones) and was told that none of this stuff works and to just leave it to correct itself.

Which I did.

Except that I took him to cranial osteopathy because he was not sleeping and they said the whole traumatic birth (he got stuck)/flat head/non-sleeping is related and they'll try and fix it all.

They fixed the non-sleeping.

His head is much improved too.

HTH

We tried one ... made dd lie funny and stretched her nexk so she started holding her head wonky (which was easily quickly rectified with basic physio). Repositioning at night so he/she doesn't lie on flat spot more proven I THINK - put rolled blanket under the side you don't want them to lie. iykwim. Plus daytime tummytime and/or keeping upright when awake
How old is your dd/ds?

he is nearly 6 months

Real plagiocephaly won't sort itself out. It's not just a cosmetic thing that the head looks flat.

Ok. Is he really flat, or just a bit? LOTS of babies get a bit of a flat spot - essentially b/cos they all sleep on their backs now, for very good reason. Their skulls esp in first 6 months are really soft and the constant pressure just makes them flatten.

If it's only a little flat - don't worry! As the head grows, the flat bit will look less, plus hair covers it - if you feel a few adult skulls you'll soon discovere how wierd all out head shapes are ... or so my mate who's a physio tells me

Also, fyi, most babies hit their 'flatest' period at around 6 months, it's probably as bad as it's going to get. But you might want to be aware that it may not go away all together.

Also, it is essentially a very benign condition. There are a couple of studies that suggest some MINOR corelation with other problems, but they are very very slight. So it is, as I undersatnd it, essentially cosmetic.

If it's bothering you, you might want to try some repositioning, but it gets harder after 6 months as babies tend to wiggle about more. There are more invasive therapies availble, but I ain't even going to tell you about those unless you reckon you're really worried ...!! (my dd is currently having more invasive therapy ... still not sure if it's worth it/completely pointless!!)

plagiocephaly is NOT cosmetic

NAB3 - sorry if I'm wrong here - tell me more (dd has plagio...)

Depends what you want to know, what diagnosis there has been, checking, the age of your child, has the assymetry being measured? My daughter is now 3 and had plagiocephaly and was hypotonic.

Ds had scaphiocephaly (a form of plagio) from being breech. We successfully used postioning therapy with a certain head cushion. You have to really stay on it. With ds's situation, we even had to be careful how we held him, as continually holding him with just the left arm, say, was not helping his head shape.

After that experience I decided to get a sleep cushion for this baby.

NAb3 -dd was 12-15 mm plagio (depending on measure-er), 91% brachy; we've seen consultant - no fusure of sutures etc All her other development is completely normal. She's now 7 + months.
From your post I'm assuming there are other associated problems I don't yet know about? (sorry for semi hijack Emd)

My daughter's assymetry was 1.7mm and after 1 month of helmet treatment from the age of 10 months had improved to 0.7mm. After a further 2 months we measured 0.3mm and we decided to stop the treatment. We saw Dr Blecher in Harley Street and he is a really lovely guy who knows his stuff. 1.8 and above is severe. 1.5-.6 is moderate and anything less is mild.

Children with untreated plagio can have more ear infections, if they need glasses it can cause a problem having them fitted as the ears aren't in alignment,they often have more headaches/migraines and can have problems with eye tracking.

You will get so many people, and doctors, who say it is just cosmetic and the hair will grow etc etc but you have a very small window in which to have treatment and then you are stuck.

My ex HV son had plagio, they couldn't afford to go privately, he is now 11 and he has eye tracking problems.

On yahoo! there is a really good website dedicated to plagio where you can ask any questions at all and see pictures of babies with different types of plagio, bracky, etc and also before and after pics from helmet treatment and babies wearing the helmet.

brachy I mean.

NABs - my dd is actually on day 10 of her helmet treatment too - with a different provider though I've heard GREAT things about Dr B ... and we're already on the yahoo grp under another name ... doubtless see you there!! She has had AMAZING correction in just 10 days, and for us helmet was prob the right decision - but (esp given the cost!!) will always wonder if we could have 'sorted it' without. I may be more solidly convinced further down the line!

I knew about some(eg eye problems), but not all of the side effects you mentioned, but tbh, didn't want to scare Emd too much as (my undertanding) lots of babies have MILD plagio that CAN be sorted out without the need for a helmet - and don't necessarily have any associated problems. My ds had mild pagio which we sorted fine, no longer noticeable AT ALL( 2 1/2).

Wasn't meaning in any way to downplay the importance of plagio - but I wanted to know more about Emd's position before explaining more about helmet therapy. After all, it's not exactly an easy option (neither is repro, I know!!)

Emd are you still out there??!

My daughter was also hypotonic which meant she was v late to sit up. A lot of babies with plagio do find it sorts itself out once they can sit up but since my DD couldn't sit up....I also don't think it is true plagio if it sorts itself out that quick but that is just my opinion.

I'm back!

My husband & I have researched no end all about plagio, and have booked to see a specialist in tthe next couple of weeks. To cut a very long story short, We keep being told different things by HVs & GPs & we are so mad that since 6-8 week check I have been asking for guidance on this and they just say "don't worry just enjoy him" - I do BLEEPING well enjoy him but I just want to do the best I can for my baby - why is that so difficult to understand! All they had to say was start re-postioning him, if we had been a bit more forceful with it back then we wouldn't be having all this worry now! Anyway i'm going on, & i'm sure you have all been there! The flatness is certainly quite noticable, my husband thinks they will say he should have a helmet, i'm not so sure, and i'm hoping to God that he doesn't. We use goi goi pillows, one in cot & one in pushchair, he in never on his back apart from when sleeping or having bum changed. We basically try everything recommended to sort the prob, apart from the mattress, osteopath (husband doesn't think its good him being pulled about at this early age, & I don't know enough on the matter to make an informed judgement). We try re-positiong at night but at 6 months it is very hard to do! I think his head has rounded out slightly at the bottom but I don't know if thats just me willing it to!

Emd - sure that NAB3 and I both can HUGELY sympathise with where you're at - its HUGELY frustating the h/v etc fob you off. Essentially b/cos 1. there isn't any good, published research about helmets 2. They don't want to put people off back to sleep.
From research I've read (cohort studies so pretty solid stuff) around 1/3 to 1/4 of babies who have flat heads at 6 mnths still have them at 2 years. {PUt another way, 2/3 or 3/4 won't) DOn't know if that helps or not. Repo is tougher after 6 mnths - we certainly found this with dd. Think this is a hugely personal decision, and don't want to try and pull you one way or the other, but would say (fyi) that our dd has adjusted increadibly well to the helmet - that bit probably won't be as bad as you're thinking. But yes, I personally think that you do need to bear in mind that the helmet providers are, essentially selling a service. Which isn't to say they don't turn people away - they certainly do - but the 'cut offs' for what makes a serious case, for eg, -certainly at the provider I went to, were based on what US insurance companies will pay out for! (Dr B, as mentioned by NAB3 is more realxed about measurements than may of them) I think you just have to go into this decision with your eyes open. I say that as someone who feels they made the right decision going the helmet route.

I really recommend you check out the plagio site plagiouk if you haven't already, But bear in mind that this is mostly used by people like me who have gone down the helmet route - although there are people ther who will talk repro there are less of them.

HTH and good luck

(oh & try not to beat yourself up - its pretty hard to stand up to all that 'don't worry stuff' - they do a good job of making you feel like s silly fussy mum!)

Stand your ground, Enid. There's an MNer here whose child still has quite severe head misshaping b/c the docs let it go too long. She posts under another name now, can't remember it, but there is a thread under her other name (Lilypond, I think) discussing it.

You will find that a lot of HV and GP know diddly squat about plagio. My HV only did because her son had it. My GP measured the circumference of my daughter's head every month and said it was growing fine. Even though one time the measurements were very strange but he said he must have written them down wrong last time. . Measuring the circum does nothing to rule in or out plagio. It is the assymetry you need measuring. I was so desperate for everything to be okay that I believed him each month when he said all was well and then days later I would be worrying again. We finally got to see a consultant when she was 10 months old and he wrote in her red book she was hypotonic. He didn't tell us this though and we only discovered it when I read her book once home. I got on the internet, discovered the 2 conditions can be linked after looking for exercises to do with my DD. Someone at my husbands last job had a son who had seen Dr B and we contacted him. He asked for a photo which we emailed, he said he wanted to see her and we did 3 days later. He felt she was borderline and wouldn't do the helmet but was totally amazed at her improvement and the speed of it. So much so he wrote a paper on her! BTW The helmet cost £2500.

NAB3 - can't believe the consultant didn't tell you your dd's diagnosis -0 that's appalling. But you're really lucky to have a well -informed h/v... mine said first time I asked, 'oh it's quite mild it'll sort itself out.' No repo advice, just vaguely mentioned tummy time. Second time, said 'umm, yes it is quite noticeable. But there's nothing you can do about it '(hugely reassuring) Me ' what about helmet therapy?" Her "oh, that isn't practical, it's very dangerous and very expensive' Was extremely dismissive and I've never seen her since...
I was a consultant (privately as NHS waittime was mad) and he was much more knowledgeable helpful & balenced. But as NHS rarely funds helmets (& there's not yet any solid published, peer-reviewed studies comparing helmeted and non-helmeted children), they kind of have to be anti....

My ex GP told me to put the baby on her side using a rolled up blanket. She was 3 weeks. I did this, left her for no more than 5 seconds and came back to find her on her front. If I had been gone longer she could have suffocated!!

Our insurers coughed up for our daughter's helmet. We also filled a complaint with the complaints service of the NHS.

Our HV might have been imformed enough to tell us what was wrong with our daughter but that was it. No explanation of what it was or the implications of it, never mind what to do about it.

Hi!

Back again! We took ds to london yesterday for an assesment. He has brachcephaly with a cranial ratio of 94%. There they class 78-89% normal (Iunderstand this varies depending on where you go). His assymetry in normal at 5mm. We now have to decide if we want to go for a helmet. The thing is Ijust don't think it looks really really bad & we have noticed some improvement in the last 3-4 weeks with repositioning (been repositioning for a lot longer). Do you know cranial ratio etc. of your lo's? Any info would be great!