Flat head: Should I be worried?

[TheApprentice]

DS aged 8.5 months has a flat head (measures the same side to side as it does front to back iyswim). Its not lopsided in any way, flatness is uniform rather than on one side only.

I never thought anything about it till DH came home from work the other night talking about a colleague's child who is going to have a helmet fitted to correct his "flatness".

Having googled this syndrome I am now thoroughly confused. It seems that if I contact my HV or doctor I will be told not to worry (NHS party line), but if I contact one of the specialists in this condition I will be told there is a problem, and I will need to fork out £2000 to have a helmet made.

I don't know what to believe. Any opinions or experiences in this matter would be appreciated!

Hi, DS had a flat head when he was very tiny due to his neck being stiff from being in the womb - he could only look one way and so always slept on the same side of his head. Anyhow took him to cranial osteopath who sorted him out straight away. You will have to pay for one, costs around £30 each time but definitely worth it. He also recommended a special pillow which encouraged ds to sleep on his side. I know it gets harder to fix the older the baby, so you may possibly need a helmet, but don't worry about it until you've seen A cranial osteopath. Hope this helps.

thanks Strawberry, this sounds like a good start. £30 to see cranial osteopath seems quite reasonable, and we can take it from there.

the NHS "party line" is because there is NO evidence that helmet treatment is better than repositioning in treating plagiocephaly. We do not fail to treat significant conditions just to save money- plagiocephaly gets better on its own. Go and have a look at a class of 5 yr olds- all of them will have been put on their backs to sleep, none of them will have noticeably flat heads.

The £2000 helmets treat a problem that largely does not exist- the website of that company is scandalous- implying that a child will have brain damage if the head is not treated.

I know several neurosurgeons- NONE of them treat plagiocephaly with helmets- because it is not necessary.

If you are worried, there is plenty you can do- firstly make sure your child does not spend too much time on his back- tummy time is good, as is sitting up, rolling about. Take your child out of his car seat as soon as the car journey is over, don't leave him in it in order to stop him waking up (car seats are necessarily very rigid). Use a sling/ hipseat for carrying your child about, rather than long periods lying in a pram/ pushchair.

More info here

Agree with Tissy. DD's flat head is gradually getting better and it has not impeded her development at all! Her consultant has commented on her head but checked her sutures and reassured me it will get better as she gets older. I'm happy with that.

Thanks Tissy, this is very reassuring. In fact come to think of it I know you are right re a class of 5 year olds (I'm a teacher in my other life!).

DH and I were suspicious about the website you mention, but of course we are concerned and want to do the best for DS.

That sounded harsh - I didn't mean it to. I used to worry myself silly about DD's head when she was smaller, but have just come to accept it now. Try not to get too upset about it or listen to too many horror stories.

also, just been back to the website in question, and had a look at it again (grr!), NONE of the "clinical team" are doctors, but orthotists. What do orthotists do? Make appliances for money.......

well, its interesting you say that Tissy as DH said his colleague went to Glasgow to see these specialists and they don't even have a consulting room there, as they are based in Leeds. Apparently they had hired a rather dodgy room for the day, v untidy and not v professional looking, and Dh said "Surely if its a recognised condition there would be specialists all over the country.."

to be fair to the company in question, there don't seem to be any references to brain damage on the website...but I have seen them somewhere, so either they have been removed, or there is another company scaring the crap out of gullible parents.

quite.

I know the paediatric neurosurgeon in Glasgow (and one of the orthotists...). If there were a need, they WOULD be provided by the NHS.

LilRed, you are right, its other people's comments that make you worry, and then you think, "what if this causes brain damage".

But DS is meeting all the development milestones so far, and as to his looks, I think he's GORGEOUS! (not biased at all )

The apprentice - you're not alone. my 6 month DD has been a committed back-sleeper until recently, and had a rather flat head. It's pretty symmetrical (snap!), and we've decided to see if she grows out of it. She's a pretty hairy baby though, so you only see the full extent of the flatness when she's in the bath. So at the very least, I guess your DS's flat spot will become far less noticeable as his hair grows.

Yes Barry, Ds is a bit short on hair at the mo.

I like your name btw, are you a fan of cillit bang?! (I tried it and wasn't impressed!!)

My DS also has a flat head - noticeable now only really when his hair is wet. I too worried myself silly about it when he was a baby (now nearly 3) but didn't want to put him through the trial of a helmet as a child at his nursery wore one and it didn't make any real difference.

This is all v reassuring, thanks.

My DD is 9 months now. She had a very flat head at 6 weeks. I made sure from about 3 months I positioned her at different ends of the cot so she would naturally turn different ways. TBH i'm not sure it made a difference as she sucks her thumb and lies on the other side. Her head is assymetrical. However it has improved over the last few months. It is still apparent but not obvious iykwim.

There are lots and lots of threads on this subject if you search, and the underlying message from all is do not worry.
My ds had a head as flat as a pancake for a while; quite suddenly, when he got more mobile, it just filled out. Please don't worry. I did for ages and you will, but please be reassured.

DS had plagiocephaly, possibly after torticollis, which was due to how they yanked him out with the forceps (they weren't sure if they'd actually broken his shoulder in the process - luckily not). We saw a physiotherapist who showed us a few positions how to hold DS to encourage him to turn the other side and we had to change positions as far as possible when he was sleeping. He's now nearly 8. I don't know if he has the most symmetrical head but he has thick curly hair and it doesn't show.

Thanks again for making me feel better. DS's flatness is purely through sleeping on his back (he is starting to sleep on his side sometimes now, though) as he was born by c-section and had a perfectly shaped head when he was born.

My DS had a flat spot on the side of his head caused by torticollis, which meant that he could only turn his head one way and it was tilted to the side. He had a difficult delivery with failed ventouse, forceps and shoulder dystocia, and had a stay in SCBU due to head injuries from the delivery. At 3 months he was referred to physio by my GP and I was given some exercises and advice on positioning. He was also given a collar to wear to help strengthen the muscles. He's now 7 months, we've been discharged by the physio and I'm noticing a diffference in his head shape already.

TheApprentice - My DS is exactly the same flat head at the back from sleeping on his back.
There is a load of info on this website that may help you.

I was thinking about contacting a specialist, but i think DS is too old now.

HTH