12 week old and flat head (pictures)

[AztecTurtle]

As I put in my title, my 12 week old has a flat head
When DD was born she preferred to sleep looking left so I put her down that way and obviously she’s got a flat head now! I’m a new mum and I didn’t consider this could happen, no one told me to alternate sides so I assumed it was fine
Its very pronounced but all I keep hearing when I ask about it is ‘it will round out’ (I have asked the doctor at her 6 week check and I used the health visitor texting service)
My DD hates tummy time so usually gets sat up on me throughout the day and once she is asleep I turn her head (which thankfully she doesn’t usually move back)
Has anyone else’s baby had this and did it actually round out? I’m considering a helmet but they are ££

This is super common in babies. Please try not to worry. As they get more mobile it will improve.

They don't like tummy time to start with but it's important to persevere with it. Her head will even out with time, sometimes can take up to a year or so to be completely symmetrical but that is normal, and majority of children don't need any treatment.

For most children helmets are not needed at all- NHS usually don't advise them now - it's not a nice thing for your child to have to have (wearing it 23 hours a day who would like it?!) , but id be suspicious that a private clinic is not likely to tell you that as they would get thousands of pounds from you for one.

Try not worry, it will get better and is normal, you sound to be doing a great job, congratulations on your little one.

Thanks, I suppose I just want an instant fix which isn’t going to happen - even with a helmet! Just worried that it could get worse or not improve and by the time that happens it would be too late to sort

Just keep doing what you're doing. Just turn her head and persevere with tummy time. My DH has a right thing about our DD having a flat head but so do all her classmates! They are the flat head generation, but at least they didn't succumb to SIDS!

Try using a sling instead of lying flat in a pram. Time in a sling has the same benefits as tummy time :-)

i'd consult with the gp, there are physiotherapy options as well as special helmets to get the head into a more neutral shape.

My 9 month old still has a flat spot, he spends most of his time on his front now crawling around so I'm trusting it will even out as his skull develops. You can't see it most of the time, It's only when he's in the bath with wet hair.

Keep persevering with tummy time, it will get better. I also found everything i did, changing, bathtime etc, was always encouraging him to look the same direction, so i switched it up.Try not to worry, although I know it's very hard!

My little one had a slight flat head so I bought a memory foam pillow from amazon. Mine hated tummy time, severe silent reflux didn't help at all but persevere with it, little and often.

This mostly evens out as ghey learn to sit, crawl and walk and spend less and less time putting weight on their heads by lying down. My first paediatrician put me in a tizz about it. She was a bitch. Second one we changed to didn't even mention it.

I feel your pain re tummy time. DD would start screaming literally seconds after I put her on her tummy. Nothing worked to distract her either. I stopped bullying her in the end. She's learning everything the wrong way round, it seems.
DS, on the other hand, loves it.

My son was like this, and my God, I panicked! Time works wonders however as my DS is 13 months now and his head isn't flat anymore.

It will correct itself when DD learns to sit and crawl, I assure you. Just keep persevering with the tummy time. That's all you can do.

Also, please don't waste £££ on a helmet. They're ineffective.

Thank you all, just another thing to worry about isn’t it! As if there wasn’t enough already
I hope it does round out and I know it should but until it actually happens I won’t really believe it
I will use the pictures I took today as a starting point to see if it gets worse despite actively trying to stop it, and if I does I will make an appointment with the GP to see if it needs actual intervention

My boy had plagiocephaly and it's almost perfect now at 8 months old. However, he got his flat head because he was born with torticollis, which is the reason why he always lay facing the same way and had a head tilt too. I also did the head switch at night and that worked wonders. Might be worth just googling torticollis and checking there's not some underlying cause of the head turning preference. (Therr probably isn't but if there is, my son is perfect now after physio so it's nothing to worry about!)

This happened to my son- I tested (very scientifically, by dangling toys in front of him) and it turned out he really struggled to turn his head to the left. Whenever he tried his whole body moved. He was a ventouse birth, and apparently that might have contributed.

I had 2 sessions with an osteopath and it was incredible- he was able to move much more freely, and after that his flat head evened our fairly quickly. Honestly can’t recommend it enough.

Yeh mine was ventouse too and the physio says that's why he had a neck injury! Poor babies!
We used an osteopath too though I don't know how much it helped.

surreygirl I’ve googled torticollis and it fits quite well, at her 6 week check the doctor agreed she doesn’t like looking the other way and to encourage her to, she was definitely born like it
artesia DD was also a ventouse birth so I think I will make an appt with the GP
At her 6 week check I said she doesn’t like looking the other way and she definitely wouldn’t turn it the other way (the doctors experiment was for me to talk to her and she would rather face the wall) the doctor helped her to move her head but she wouldn’t put it flat on the bed before fidgeting and turning back

Your gp may not be able to offer much, I would contact an osteopath or chiropractor who sees lots of babies. I would also persevere with tummy time and staying off the flat side as there is huge skull growth around 16 weeks.

Okay I will have a research, DP gets reimbursed for healthcare through work so we could even get the money back if this extends to immediate family (which he thinks it does)

Both my kids have had this, my eldest is 3 now and it’s barely noticeable, only to me really because I knew it was there, if I look hard enough from the right angle I can just about see it, I’d say it was more severe than your lo going by your pic. My 8 month old also has a flat head (apparently it can be genetic!) and again now that he’s sitting up and rolling about it’s starting to round out. I saw my GP who also referred me to a paediatrician for my own peace of mind who also reassured me it will come and he advised me 100% not to go down the route of a helmet as in his opinion there isn’t enough evidence to say they work (because the roundness shown in the before and after pics may have been the same anyway without helmet) and they are v invasive in my opinion, they’ve to be worn 23 hours a day, 7 days a week for many months in most cases. NHS don’t fund them so you’d have to go privately. I know how you’re feeling because I worried myself sick over it, your lo May not be completely round but it will not be noticeable either! HTH x

I should add as well that my second lo was referred for physio to make sure he was comfortably looking both ways and they confirmed that he was, he just had a preferred side. Now that he’s 8 months he’s been rolling into his side to sleep which really helps. You might want to ask for referral to physio to check she’s got strength looking both ways because this can definitely be helped.

Aw what a beautiful head. I really want to smell it, they have the most lush smell about them at that age I wouldn't worry OP, as has been said just keep on with what you're doing. It'll sort itself out as she gets bigger.

Yep my DD's head was just like this. She's 11 months old now and although it's not as rounded as other baby's heads, it is loads better and hasn't affected her in any way.

gamerchick unfortunately at the moment it smells a bit sweaty as she needs a bath but from tomorrow morning she will be fluffy headed and sweet smelling all that gorgeous hair comes at a price!
I will do a consultation with an osteopath once I have researched clinics near me and make a GP appt to see about paediatrician/physio but I don’t personally think it’s weakness I think it’s stiff - but I am not a doctor (I wish!)

Osteopaths really work wonders - I’m seeing one with my 6mo as his head is slightly asymmetrical. After just a couple of sessions there was a noticeable difference. I hope you find a good one in your area- preferably one that specializes in working with babies.

Luckily I live in a town, central to two big cities so I have a good choice and worst comes to worst (which it won’t!) I am about an hour and a half away from London so there would most likely be a specialist there (but haven’t started researching)

My 8yo ds was like this but when he could move himself in bed and roll over and sleep on his side it resolved itself, so try not to worry too much.

The trouble is a head turning preference can lead to weakness because it means that some muscles are constantly long and some are constantly short. So something thst starts as quite harmless becomes more serious over time. Definitely worth seeing a physio and/or osteopath. My boy would have preferred to face a wall than turn his head to look at me when his torticollis was at his worst.