Plagiocephaly

[Nc1468]

Hiya
My LO has plagiocephaly and was diagnosed with it a month or so ago, and he is just 13 weeks now.

Has anyone elses LOs had this? Trying so hard to keep him off his back but I feel like it's getting worse

Do you have a sling you can carry him in?

Really handy for naps and when you need to do things around the house.
My baby practically lives in the sling except for sleeping at night.

My son had it, and we paid fora corrective helmet for 4 months. Never regretted it, his head was significantly misshapen

Hiya
Yes we have a sling, will try having him in that as much as possible!

I've heard mixed things about the helmet but glad it worked for you. Will have a look into it.

Other than the obvious flat part of the head, was there anything else you noticed about their heads?

My son had it and it worried me to death when he was under 12 months old. I tried turning his head when he was sleeping but didn't do anything else. He is now 12, and only I notice that his head is a slightly odd shape. He has never had any problems and no one has ever commented on it - I do know how much I worried at the time, but do think it's more common than we think x

professional advice here

Helmets are not provided on the NHS because there is no evidence they influence outcome any more than the following the advice above. They are also quite poorly tolerated as it is recommended the child needs to wear them 23 hours a day.

They aren't provided on the NHS as they are classed as cosmetic, and rightly or wrongly there is no funding for cosmetic intervention. We paid privately, but are aware that is not affordable to everyone

As to tolerance, it depends on when treatment starts. At 4 months old, we only needed 4 months of treatment and we never had a single issue with him wearing it for 23 hours a day. Obviously the older the child, the lower the tolerance, and the longer the treatment.

We chose the treatment as he'd had the mishappen skull from birth trauma, and it affected his ear alignment, which would have made glasses etc difficult. It's difficult to tell if the outcome would have been the same, as obviously you either do the treatment or you don't and no two children are the same.

Lots of things aren't available on the NHS. Doesn't mean they don't work.

Did anyone notice anything else about their LOs head other than just the flat bit?

We had a flat back (diagonal flat hence plagio not brachio), misaligned ears, and a bulge at the front left

Sorry I've only just seen this! I've often said I think DS has a flat back but didn't put 2+2 together! And he has a bit of a bulge at the back as well which I think is down to the flat head.

Our 12mo doesn’t have a flat head, but it is slightly asymmetrical. We’ve been going to the osteopath and it’s significantly better.

We looked at getting a helmet too but the asymmetry is quite mild so we decided not to put us all through the trauma of him wearing a helmet 23 hours a day.

Also the Osteopath said that a helmet will only correct the cosmetic issue. It doesn’t replace going to an osteopath or physio to address any physical issues that may have arisen as a result.

DD had a very flat head at 4months but it actually corrected itself as soon as she started sitting and crawling. I had PND so I didn't do any tummy time (she would always end up being sick or crying which made me feel worse) or attempted to carry her in a sling during the first few months. I was also terrified about SIDs and didn't dare place her sideways when sleeping.

Around 5-6 months she was able to turn over and started sleeping on her front. By 9 months, her head was completely normal again. I guess this gives hope that some cases resolve without treatment