I have been meaning to write this little story for a while now, but have been putting it off. Why you say! Guilt, there was and is a lot of guilt wrapped up in this little tale and though we did all we could do in the end, if I

had followed my instinct sooner the outcome would have been very different.

Catriona was born in February 2005, a healthy,happy and content little Baby. Catriona was breech throughout and was delivered safely after going through an External Cephalic Version, her story is here,  http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/7580/ECV-My-Breech-Baby/ .

Our little girl was born healthy but she had a slightly mis-shapen head. This we were informed is not uncommon in breech babies and would correct itself in time. This as it turned out is an uninformed myth circulating within the medical establishment. Catriona had a condition called Brachycephaly with complex Plagiocephaly.

In the majority of cases the Plagiocephaly can be corrected by using Repositioning Therapy. The condition will not correct itself, aid from Parents is vital in the early months for the therapy to work. See here for good repositioning advice  http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/8164/Repositioning-Therapy-to-Correct-Flat-Head-or-Plagiocephaly/ .

Once our GP, who had been out of the Country, saw Catriona's head, she informed us that this condition would not get better and may even get worse. She took advice from an expert in the field http://www.ahead4babies.com/Doctors/tabid/56/Default.aspx .

Dr Bletcher on seeing Catriona, urged us to go forward with Helmet Therapy ASAP. Catriona was considered old, at 18months. The caranium plates fuse at around two years of age, so depending on severity it can take between 4 and 8 months for the treatment to work well. Catriona was considered to have a severe Brachycephaly and Plagoicephaly. The prognosis was poor, but not impossible.

We agreed and within day's we were in clinic to have Catriona's head measured,photographed and a cast for the helmet done.

We had many fears about doing this and as we had never heard of this type of treatment, so we imagined all sorts of horrible senarios, nothing could prepare us for the reality. It was easy peasy.

A cast was to be made of Catriona's head using the old fashioned method of casting, plaster and gause. Gee we thought, how are they going to do that, Caty will be terrified, it is going to hurt, she will scream, oh no I cant put her through that. Silly me.

Caty was given a bath, she was allowed to splash around, whilst being entertained the lovely technition used a baby conditioner on Caty's hair and made her head all slimey. I carried her to the treatment table and stood facing and holding my daughter, the technition put a stockinet over Caty's head and proceeded to apply the plaster, which Caty thought was hilarious. Then it came time to cover Caty's entire face, holes were cut in the gause for her mouth and nose, as soon as it covered her face, a bottle of milk was popped straight into her mouth. Not a murmer or squeek, she just happily sucked away untill the cast was removed a few minutes later.

Two weeks later a DOC Band made in America, was fitted to Catriona's head in London and our fears of what this implement of torture was going to be were layed to rest. The Helmet is so light  a single strand of fine sewing thread could hold it without snapping, it literaly is as light as a feather. The Helmet is not tied onto Baby's head but lighty sits there with no preassure. The head is encouraged to grow into the helmet shape, it is not forced. The velcro strap is there only to discourage removal, the helmet finds its own position and does not need to be held on. Fine now the real test, 23hrs a day seven days a week this Band has to be worn. We left the clinic still fearful of what lay a head at bedtime.

On the Journey home by train Caty never once tried to remove the Band, but actually enjoyed the attention it brought from fellow commuters. The Helmet came off for bath time, but went straight back on an hour later. Bed time went without too much fussing, and Caty slept soundly for twelve hours straight, the first time ever and continued to do so throughout the treatment.

The Band is made from a very light weight plastic and lined with a preassure absorbant but firm foam. Every two weeks we would return to London to have the Band shaved to accomodate Caty's new cranial growth. She loved the trips and enjoyed meeting up with the other kiddies who were undergoing the treatment. Her head was measured and alterations made to suit. Caty's facial symetry was very out of alighnment. If you could draw a line down through her nose. Caty's right side was further behind her left side. This made our little girl look like she had a squint from the front and one eyebrow higher than the other. The Therapy completely resolved that disfigurement and from the front Caty now looks even. The Plagiocephaly was almost completly successfull, but not quite, the Bracycephaly was not resolved.

If we had trusted our own instincts and sought treatment earlier then we are informed that all issues would have been resolved, but Caty's head started to fuse and treatment was halted. If, is a funny word, and the regrets are for me alone.

Parents should not fear the treatment the only pain involved is if you miss an appointment and go three instead of two weeks the Helmet may begin to rub, so dont miss appointments,LOL. We missed one because Caty was ill and we had to remove the band for a few days, Caty was not amused. The second issue is that diligence is needed in cleaning the band daily. If one does not do this it could begin to smell and bacteria could grown causing irritation in the baby's skin. A special cleanser is provided for the job and only takes a few minutes a day.

I would thoroughly recommend that parents who find that repositioning did not work for their child seek out Helmet therapy, it is painless, simple to use and in no way interferes with sleep. Many Parents who we talked to agreed that their children took to sleeping better in the helmet as the head was supported and did not fall involuntarely onto the flat area.

Actually when I say it is painless, there is one down side, the removal. Many children become attached to their helmet and after final removal tend to feel a little lost without it. Kind of like loosing their favourite teddy or comforter. Caty took to taking it to bed with her for a few weeks, but then promtyly discarded it for her trusted Blue teddy, I think he turned out to be softer to cuddle.

I hope this advice may be of some help to Parents who are worried about treatment. Plaster moulding is being phased out and many companies are using Laser or Scanning technology to take an impression of the head.

http://www.cranialtech.com/MedicalInfo/plagiocephaly.html was the company we used but sadly they were closing in London, we were one of the last clients.

Best Wishes, Winnie.