Is there anyone out there that has had a baby with a flat spot on their head from favouring a particular side. My 12 week old son had a perfectly round head when he was born but now has a flat spot. I wasnt really that concerned but luckily the health nurse commented on it and referred us to a physiotherapist to try and fix the problem. If it doesnt improve my beautiful little boy will have to wear a fitted plaster helmet 23 hours a day. JUst wondering if anyone elses bubs have had the same problem and if it fixed itself??
Try not to panic. My daughter had a very obvious and severe flat head at the back as she struggled to sleep on her side. We thought she may have to have a helmit too. We took her to see an excellent neuro surgeon in Bristol Uk just to check that the growth plates( they make up babies skulls and eventually fuse) were all developed normally which i would say is worth doing. He adviced us to be wary of helmitt producing companies as they are money spinning people and play on a parents fears. We took his advice, had xrays and now she's two you would never know her head was so flat. I would say a physio oppinion etc is very good just be wary of the helmitt idea unless an independant medical opinion deems it a good idea.
Thanks to everyone who shared their stories and advice. I am feeling a lot better about the situation and am really hopeful Little Tyler doesn't have to wear a helmet.
My baby favoured one side more than the other, creating a flat spot on the right side of her head. Each time she went to sleep, I would turn her head to the left. Tummy time is also a ggod idea, to get them off their head for a while. If you think it is more severe, then Izzy's advice is highly recommended.
I know someone whos baby is 7months and the back of her head is flat..Its called flat head syndrome and if not corrected soon enough it wont fix itself well, maybe a little but it will still be flat..My friend argued with me for months that her daughters head would fix itself and i told her it wouldnt reson being, when i baby is young there heads are soft and mould that way..
Your son is still young so there is a good chance of you fixing it if it isnt badly flattened..For now just try to get him of his back or which ever side it is that he is favouring..you can actually buy a special cushion thing that goes in the cot and it makes them sleep on either side you put them without rolling, so its very safe..
I had one of these cushions - The Lovenest by Babymoov. Unfortunately it is only any good for the 1st 3 months before baby starts moving about too much and can then be considered a risk for SIDS. My son has a very slight flat spot which is improving every day!
The term for this is plagiocephaly (if the flat spot is on the side). Sometimes the flat head results if the baby favors one side. And sometimes this happens because of the shortening in the the neck muscle on that side (Torticollis). If this is the case, you will be told to do stretching exercises.
Whether the flatness goes away really depends on the severity. For mild cases, yes, the flatness will go away without doing anything. For moderate to severe, you will need to be proactive and keep your baby off from the flat side.
My twins suffered from plagiocephaly too (one more severe than the other). I noticed it at 9 weeks. From then on, I got into repositioning (keeping baby off the flat side).
I forgot to add that I did the repositioning and gave it a chance to work until my girls were 6 months old. At that time, I took them to a pediatric neuro surgeon and was told that what I had done worked and there was no need for banding (helmet).
Katie (the one with more severe flat spot) now looks a lot better but I can still see the flatness. I don't know if it's just me since I know it's there. But no one elses notices it.
Look at the link for the advice I wrote. There is a picture of Katie there when she was about 12 weeks old (I think). Is your baby's head like that? more so or not so much? Would love to see a picture, if you can.
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