 | | Join our Flat Head Campaign! | |
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| Flat Head Syndrome is thought to affect up to 50% of babies, yet it is an easily preventable condition. Local Parent has launched an awareness campaign to help educate parents in how to prevent this condition happening to their little ones. Have you, or someone you know, suffered from this condition? Do you want to help prevent this happening to others? Work with us and help Spread the Word... Join our Campaign... | |
| | 7 Steps to help prevent Flat Heads | |
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|  | 1. When they are sleeping, lift and turn your baby’s head to the side on alternate sides each day. It may be helpful to place a thin wedge under one shoulder, or a rolled-up towel under the mattress (NB, if your baby is beginning to roll over, do not use any props or wedges that could cause entanglement or suffocation). | | 2. Avoid putting mobiles and toys directly above your baby’s head, instead place them to each side to encourage head rotation. | | 3. When supervised, lay your baby on each side alternately for short periods, and on their tummy for a few minutes at a time. | | 4. When feeding, alternate the side you hold your baby to encourage head rotation in both directions. | | 5. Stand to the side when changing nappies as your baby will turn to look at you. Alternate sides at each nappy change. | | 6. Keep the amount of time your baby spends in a car seat to a minimum. Where possible use a baby carrier or sling to keep the pressure off the head. | | 7. Use a pillow or cushion under your baby’s head and shoulders for supervised play on their backs. Specialist pillows and mattresses have been developed for sleeping that can also be used in buggies and prams. |
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HannahG
Novice
Posts: 1
 | | 29-03-2008 8:08 AM | | My niece is four months old and she has a flat head, not at the back but on the right side at an angle.
Her parents have been told it is purely cosmetic and that it will sort itself out once she is sitting up.
I know my brother is concerned but they are being told not to worry about. He is already doing some things like repositioning to try and resolve it.
How do we tell if the flattening is bad enough to need treatment? I know that helmets can be bought but they cost a lot. Presumably as we don't see lots of babies with helmets most babies are either not bad enough or I guess their parents haven't got the money or don't know to get one?
Is there a way to work out how bad her flattening is and work out if it is likely to resolve itself?
Hannah | | | |
| EmiLou
Novice
Posts: 4
| | 29-03-2008 9:51 AM | | My daughter was about 3 months old when we first noticed her flat head. Twice my doctor told me it would probably correct itself.
By six months I was getting worried so I went to a Cranio-Sacral Therapist who noticed she has restricted movement in her head rotation (she couldn't fully turn her head to the right) which meant she was tending to sleep facing the other way, consequently leading to her flat head on one side. This was corrected over several weeks-worth of massage treatment. At the same time I was doing repositioning and putting her on a cushion if she was on her back on the floor. But, to be honest, it was probably already too late.
We hadn't noticed much improvement to the shape of her head by 9 months so I went again to the doctor and demanded an appointment with a paediatrician at the hospital.
At that point we started thinking seriously about helmet therapy. After lots of talking about it, combined with a slight improvement to her head shape and a lot of hair growth which did make it look better (I'm sure this is what doctors mean when they say it will correct itself) we did decide not to go down the helmet route. By then she was 10 months old anyway and a helmet would have had little effect.
She is such a happy, gorgeous little girl that we have a lot to be thankful for but I am annoyed that I didn't know before how easy it would have been to prevent it. If only the condition was taken seriously when the baby is young enough for you to do something about it.
Its difficult to know who to go to for advice because the helmet manufacturers are going to try and sell you a helmet. My advice would be to get your brother and his wife to demand a referral from their doctor but do it soon because they will probably have to wait two or three weeks for an appointment.
Good luck - and I hope it all works out!
Emma
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| Madeleine
Novice
Posts: 4
| | 30-03-2008 8:27 PM | | Hello Hannah
Sorry to hear about your niece. The fact that the flattening is only on one side, tells me immediately that she has some sort of neck strain - probably lies with her head in that one direction most of the time. This needs resolving in itself, her parents can either insist on a referral to a paediatrician, who in turn should refer to a physiotherapist, or sometimes a G.P will refer directly to a physio. All this is likely to take a bit of time however, and at four months time is not on their side, so my advice would be to go privately. Alternatively they could seek help from a craniosacral therapist or cranial osteopath (make sure they are experienced in working with babies and children).
Positioning techniques are effective if started very early, but of course with a neck strain it's not possible for a baby to make a full rotation on it's own, or to maintain a position if placed there manually, so it needs to be done in conjunction with therapy. The sooner it starts the better, because once they begin to roll over on their own and spend more time sitting they will not stay in any position that you put them in to for more than a few minutes, and that small window of opportunity is lost.
With regard to the flattening of the head rectifying itself once the baby is sitting; I feel from my own experience that any natural improvement is likely to be very small. The reason for this is that the skull is made up of many separate bones, each of which have minute spaces between them (suture lines) to allow for a tiny amount of movement. Often when a head becomes quite misshapen, some of the bones get pushed up against one another causing compression and so become very stuck and 'set' in their position, because of this, even though the skull is growing it will continue to grow in the 'set' pattern, so little improvement is made in terms of the shape. This is where craniosacral therapy and cranial osteopathy can be beneficial, helping to release the compression, giving the skull bones more movement and ability to
re-shape. If the damage becomes very severe, then the only route left is to use a helmet for remoulding, which is indeed a very costly procedure.
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Madeleine Lewis
I have been a Health Facilitator for over 25 years, working independently and for the Adult Education Authorities. I have a special interest in treating babies and children with craniosacral therapy, and have 16 years experience in this particular field of work. Educating parents regarding the prevention of Flat Head syndrome is a big 'soap box' issue for me, and I am delighted that the Local Parent publication has taken up the campaign. | |
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