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Original poster

Flat heads - Can parents do ANYTHING right?

38 replies

stripeybumpsmum · 29/04/2006 21:41

Admit my tolerance is low as a result of my cold, DH back injury, DS sniffles and moving house but have really lost it with this one!
Article in today's Times Body and Soul on 'flat head syndrome.' DS (12 weeks) is a bit squished. Apparently, up to 48% UK babies affected, as a result of a) Back to Sleep campaign and b)too much time in car seats or strapped in 'baby gyms and bouncy chairs whilst parents do the chores.'
Advice is to ensure babies are kept in car seat for minimum time, mobile is moved around cot to encourage them to sleep on alternative sides and to carry baby around or use a sling. If these methods don't work by 4 months, see GP for LO to be fitted with what looks like a bike helmet.
OK, except....
We bought the most expensive cot mattress as recommended so it didn't sag...now appears this is too hard a surface for his delicate skull
He prefers to sleep absolutely flat out - just moves back to that if you reposition him
We never let him stay in car seat beyond recommended 90 minutes
Have been advised not to use door bouncers/front facing slings or too much tummy play etc until he can support his head ie AFTER 3 months
Advised carrying him around leads to accidental parenting that he can't be by himself
Told never to use a cushion or pillow in bed - so how do those heart shaped ring things work?
Go figure! Can't win.
Am reminded of HV advice thread this week - e.g. BF until 5 months and 29 days, then on three meals a day of pie, chips and creme eggs at 6 months. Keep him on his back until 3 months...and then if he's got a flat head at 4 months it is our fault.
Sorry long post but fed up of conflicting advice!

OP posts:
Pruni · 29/04/2006 21:49

Hey, look, if he hasn't got any medical problems related to eg hydrocephalus etc (and I'm assuming he hasn't) his head will most likely be normal by age 1.
My ds got this - same as you, didn't leave him lying in his car seat/chair etc - even had him in a sling quite a lot.
His head was in good shape by a year, as per advice.
It really was quite extreme too, v flat at the back.
I think the reshaping helmet thing is quite an extreme solution...I'd like to know who makes the money out of that.

awayninahmanger · 29/04/2006 21:52

dd asleep in car seat right now glad I saw this

Bundlesandbundle · 29/04/2006 22:00

DS was diagnosed with flat head syndrome at about 4 months as my HV was "concerned" so she referred him to Physio. We were advised to do lots of neck stretching as he was a bit stiff on that side and keep ds off his back as much as possible, but he hated the stretching and didn't like being on his tummy either so just had to do what we could. As soon as he could sit up though it managed to sort itself out, although Physio was very impressed with our "efforts"! LOL :o

I wouldn't worry about it - and don't believe everything you read Wink

sparklemagic · 29/04/2006 22:09

stripey, I SOOO know what you mean. My DS had a very short time with a bit of a flat head but it went 'normal' v quickly as I'm sure most do. You are so right, if I'd carried him around all the time he would not have got a flat head but no doubt the HV would have said he wasn't getting enough time to exercise his limbs or something....

and the bf till 6 months thing then immediately being leapt upon if they haven't experienced all fruit and veg by the next day!!!!

You're right, parents are just by definition, doing it wrong Grin

Don't let it get to you though...if you can manage it! (stressed mother = stressed baby remember Grin)

Waswondering · 29/04/2006 22:10

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

starlover · 29/04/2006 22:12

just to add another view in though... flat head syndrome CAN occur and it can be damaging,

it doesn't always sort itself out, and some people leave it to late to be fixed, whilst waiting for it to fix itself

Waswondering · 29/04/2006 22:35

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Caligula · 29/04/2006 22:55

Good lord I've never heard of it.

I wonder if they had it in mediaeval times?

Waswondering · 29/04/2006 23:00

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

NotAnOtter · 29/04/2006 23:31

mmm stripey i read that and tbh thought it was a load of bollocks!

naswm · 29/04/2006 23:38

plagio can be really bad and wsome children need helmet tratment to coresct it. If it doesnt correct istself (or by healmtet treatment) it can casuse problmes as they chdlren grow.

My GOddaughter has plagiocephaly but thnankgully she made such improvement with ltos of physio (her mum is brillaint) that she doenst; need a helmet. Some do though.

I too thiought the car sear pic was misleading. I[m not an expert on this by any measn, but am more aware of it sinece my Goddaighter was born least year.

Think somneone made a strong appeal on MN a while ago abaotu rasing awaremess of this. Didn;t they post it on all subjects or somehting like that?

SoupDragon · 30/04/2006 08:10

Both DSs had this and in both cases it sorted itself out as soon as they could sit unaided. I don't think DDs head has gone flat - it's gone bald at the back though.

Original poster
stripeybumpsmum · 30/04/2006 14:29

Thanks for advice and calming words, feel much better for good sleep. Am not going to worry - DS is pretty robust now so expect he will stretch head and neck into shape anyway. Plus, following last night's rant, I forgot to put baby gym away. Came down this morning to find cat asleep in it, adopted as his own personal entertainment zone...

OP posts:
myermay · 01/05/2006 12:49

just wanted to add my bit.

You mustn't feel guilty about this, it's something that i beat myself up about for ages.

My ds2 had plagiocephaly too, his consultant said his case was v. severve. My nephew also had it severe and his head is still disfigured....my sister chooses to wear his hair a bit longer to cover up the bit dent in one side of his head. We tried repositioning him & cranial therapy.

When ds was 5 months, i took him to the GP, as family members, friends were commenting on his head shape, which confirmed what i was worrying about. GP agreed and referred him but we had to wait 8 wks for a peditrician to see him.
After thinking if through for a while we realised that if we wanted to get his head shape corrected, then we need to act quick whilst the bones in his skull were not fused. I didn't want to wiat 8wks for an appointment as the quicker you act, the less time they wear the helmet for.

It was one of the hardest decisions to make but we had him fitted with a helmet (starband) which he wore for 4.5 months and it corrected his head beyond our belief. We have absoloutly no regrets having him in a helmet at leat now we can look back and know we did everything that we knew was possible to correct it whilst he was still young enough to know nothing about it.

There are v. few NHS consultants who see Plagio (flat to the side)brachy (flat on the back)as a medical problem, it's considered to be cosmetic. I'm sure if it was their child however who had a severly disfigured head then they'd get it sorted.

Some people say that these helmets are a trend and that the parents are just being vain! it made me so upset to read that. We all just do what we consider best for our children.

ds is almost 1 now and has been out of his band for 6 wks, we are so pleased that we went ahead with treatment.

Carry on trying to reposition him, have you had his neck checked to see if he suffers from tight neck muscles which encourage him to hold his head to one side? also you can get something called a goi pillow, which is also recommended for plagio. Google plagio and you get heaps of info, also there is an msm forum set up for parents of kids who have flat heads.

Don't blame yourself but there is help out there if you need it. GPS, HV's all strug it off like your a neuorotic mother and say that it will correct itself. If it's really bad then it won't correct itself, it you need any more info then just CAT me

SueW · 01/05/2006 13:11

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at OP's request.

Chandra · 01/05/2006 13:40

I'm sure that in a few years time, the advice of allowing baby to sleep on his tummy will be back.

I have a friend whose child really had a flat side to his head. She was always told it would correct by itself and surely... it didn't. Fortunately his case was not severe and the problem is now covered with hair. DS has not that problem but has had several others where we have been fobbed off by GPs and HV with the phrase that it will sort itself but in the mean time DS (and us) have had to go through the misery of it while waiting for the problem to disapear. What I have learned in these few years is two thing:

  1. If you insist to see a consultant beyond a GP you may save your DS some misery and further problems.

  2. HV are as qualified to give advice as any of your neighbours. If you are seriously concerned, they are not qualified enough to offer advice on health problems.

tamum · 01/05/2006 13:58

I would be very surprised indeed if they changed the advice about lying babies on their backs; the evidence is as absolute as anything epidemiological can be, and I would imagine most parents would prefer a funny shaped head to an increased risk of cot death. I would imagine that the article came about because of the threads on MN Wink

myermay · 01/05/2006 19:11

chandra, even if the GP does refer to a peditrician, they v. rarely allow helmet treatment on the NHS. I think from talking to other parents who've chosen to go down this route, that it's only a v. small percentage who will agree to fund it.

I think that when you leave the hospital with your baby that you should be given a leaflet about how to reposition and avoid flat head syndrome along with leaflets on feeding, child safety etc.

Even now when i should my HV the results of my sons head since having the band of for 4 months, she didn't seem particuarly impressed - they are just not interested as it's not something they have much knowledge/interest about.

It really pissed me off that my bloody HV's have made such a big deal about my sons hearing tests and when i tried to talk to them about our concerns with this big dent in his head, it was strugged off - where's the logic in that?

bosscat · 01/05/2006 19:21

ds1 had this, his head was very very flat on the back, it looked really odd. My FIL was worried as he is a neuroradiologist who deals with basically the head, skull and brain. I got referred to a consultant as there is a condition which is more serious than plagiocephaly, I can't remember the name now, which means the brain isn't growing properly and they both present the same way. This was ruled out very quickly though. He is 4 now and it has improved but is not totally normal. You can't tell though as his hair is thick and covers it. You can buy special foam things to make babies sleep on their sides, mail order companies sell them, and also the C shaped pillows which sit them up in the day stops pressure being put on their heads.

Its a nightmare, much sympathy.

Enid · 01/05/2006 19:24

car seast bad for babies backs for any great length of time anyway

cod · 01/05/2006 19:26

lol that was alohas articel

NotAnOtter · 01/05/2006 19:48

the whole thing does not seem to make physiological sense...if the article had not concentrated on the car seat as being the main culprit i could have understood it better but since when did a car seat flatten out the BACK of a head?

Roobie · 01/05/2006 20:23

Ds has a flat head which I first noticed after we had been on a 6 hour car ride to Devon when he was 5 weeks old. He tended to favour turning his head to one side. He was referred to a paed who confirmed that it was a cosmetic positional thing which should round out as he got older. He has just turned one and his head is still an odd shape although only really noticeable when he's getting his hair washed in the bath. I've been all over the internet researching those helmets but have decided to leave it as it's not cut and dry that the improvements aren't the result of the head's natural growth. The manufacturers are hardly going to advise a wait and see/let nature take its course approach are they?

galaxy · 01/05/2006 20:26

I was just about to post that this was Aloha's article, when I saw Cod had beat me to it Grin

FrannyandZooey · 01/05/2006 20:30

"Advised carrying him around leads to accidental parenting that he can't be by himself"

What does this mean? I am not sure what you are saying here, stripeybump.

As for the rest, I would have thought it sensible advice that a baby should not be left lying down on a hard or firm surface for long periods of time. Babies need to be held, for many reasons, not just to prevent their heads going flat. I don't like it when I see little babies left to sit in car seats - they are for using on car journeys, not to leave your baby in around the house.