Newborn with clicky hip - anyone else? Advice appreciated

[Bond]

I recently gave birth to a beautiful baby girl (14 Dec).

Before I was discharged from hospital the ped checking her said her left hip was clicky and she would need to go for a scan to check it out.

I was still very tired and did'nt ask any questions, which i regret. I have an appointment with the local Dr for more advice, but wondered if there were any ladies out there who had had the same experience and what was the outcome?

do you have any tips or advice from the things that you learnt?

many thanks

Steph

I don't have any experience of the clicky hips - but the scan is very straightforward. DTD2 had one as she was breech. It is just a ultrasound they do at the top of the thight. They actually managed to to hers without waking her!!!

HTH

Congratulations on your baby girl
When i had dd1 they said that her hip was clicky and she went for a scan on her hip when she was a few weeks old-result was fine .
The same thing happened with dd2 when i had her in january but we werent sent for a scan.
I put this down to the fact that they have both inherited my 'noisy'joints.
My joints click and grind noisely sometimes and have done since i was a child.
Try not to worry over this.

When DD was born her one hip was slighly clicky -we had to go for a scan when she was a few weeks old -results were fine. I think this is quite common (for the clicking to disappear)

Hi there,
just want to add that there is probably nothing to worry about, but the thing they are checking for is called developmental dysplasia of the hip, or DDH.

Basically the hip joint starts off as cartilage, then "ossifies" (ie turns into bone) over the first few months of life. clicky hip just means the joint is a bit loose. As your DD is so young, if she does need treatment it would probably be a funny looking brace which holds the joint in the right position for it to develop properly.

It might look a bit strange, but it is non-invasive, and usually totally solves the problem so there is no need for anything else as she gets older.

It might sound a bit scary, but definitely better to get it dealt with while she is still so little, and as I said I'm sure the scan will show she is fine.

BTW I am not a medical person but have just had my DD diagnosed with DDH at 9 months so have read up a lot about it online.

good luck and enjoy your first Xmas with your gorgeous DD!

both dd's had clicky hips on both... they had scans at 6 weeks and both pronounced fine!

DD1 had DDH at birth - very obviously. If this is what she has (and it's quite possibly not a problem at all) there are a number of different 'treatments' depending on the level of displasia. They all rely on keeping the hips in the correct position to allow the socket to grow correctly. Friends of mine had to put their baby in double nappies for the 1st 4 months, as the thickness of the nappy held the legs in the correct position. DD1 had to have a frog splint as she had the worst type. This is a type of brace which is worn continuously until the hip has stabilised. It goes under all clothes (and nappies) and needs checking frequently as it will need to be changed as the baby grows. We were told dd would have to wear hers for up to 12 weeks. She actually only needed for 6 as the joint grew really well. It was a bit of a PITA (only realised how much when we had dd2) but it sorted the problem out and now she's fine (she's 11 btw). She had to have scans/x-rays until she was 4 (I think) just to check the development.

Feel free to CAT me if you want any more info, and good luck Amiable. It is a PITA but it's non-invasive and gives good results.

Dd2 was born in 1996 and was scanned for clicky hip at 2 weeks old. Her hip was found to be borderline so she was scanned again a week or two later, and given the all clear. She is as active and agile as most 10 year olds now.

I think a lot more babies are scanned than actually need any treatment.

I had that with DS. He went for a quick scan at the local childen's hospital when he was 2 months old, that was fine and he was discharged. I agree with Elasticwoman - chances are that she won't need any further investigations/treatment.

Thank you so much for your replies ladies. It gives me hope that it may go away on it's own.

I have bought a terry nappy to put over her disposable nappy to hopefully spread her legs out abit more and be abit of self-help while we are waiting for the scan dates etc.

I am hopeful as it is only in her left hip and not both, but it's horrible to think that your gorgeous baby is going to have to be harnessed

Hopefully like many of your children, she will outgrow it. Fingers crossed.

Many many thanks again for taking time to reply.

Merry Christmas

xxxStephxxx