Baby flat head...

[nabz]

Hey everyone just wondering if anyone had advice about flat head... My 4 month old has reallllly bad flat head iv tried everything changing sleep positions, tummy time i dont have a car so shes not even in her carseat that often! Iv just heard about special pillows for flat heads wondering if anyone has used one? Thank god shes a girl and hopefully her hair will cover her oddly shaped head lol! Thankssss nabzx

[Fuschia]

Have you been to the gp?

[ClareC]

I bought a pillow as one of my friends twins suffered with this. I didn't end up using the pillow as neither of my children ended up needing it. It's caused from laying the same side all the time. Apparently if you can ensure a different part of head laid on (turn when asleep) it avoids it happening in the first place / getting any worse.

It can be corrected. There is a helmet that can be made and worn. I am happy to ask my friend for more details if your interested. I know they had to go private to do this, it did work.

[nabz]

Fuschia do you recommend i go to the gp? Can it beharmful to baby?

Clare c i dont really want to go private i mite try more bellytime and changing positions but if all fails il give it ago where did ur friend buy her pillow?

[Fuschia]

I know a few people with twins whose babies have had it, linked to torticollis I think (heads turned to one side due to being squashed in the room)

I believe that a flat head needs to be checked to determine the cause, and any treatment should be early.

Before trying to use pillows etc yourself, I would go and get it checked.

[Fuschia]

Womb, not room!!!

[Fuschia]

There are also other conditions of the skull that can manifest as an odd shaped head - it would be sensible to rule out anything nasty like that ...

[fapl]

Nice to think of it as a little room :)

[Fuschia]

:-)

[jollymummy]

I was recently concerned about my baby girl having a flat head as she persisted in only sleeping on her back. I saw my Health Visitor who referred my dtr to a Physio (standard policy). The appointment took about a month to arrive & we saw someone at Sunshine House. The Physio was lovely & very thorough, they did a full body assessment not looking just at her head. They told me that she had a slight flatness but they allow this to self-resolve up to 20 months. The Physio said she was,among other things, looking at her features to see if they were properly aligned or 'wonky' (she gave a technical term which Ive forgotten). She also said my dtr would probably soon start to move about & change her sleeping position which would help.

My dtr has now started sleeping on her tummy with her bottom in the air & I can definitely see an improvement. I also received a phone call 6 weeks later to ask if I was still concerned, which I wasn't. They actually identified another potential issue which we are now referred to have a scan for. So after this long-winded post, I'm basically saying if you are concerned see your Health Visitor & ask to be referred.

[The Nappy Lady]

My eldest had a flat area as a baby. I was referred but told it was nothing to worry about and it did correct itself. I know someone who had twins that wore helmets for a while, I think they only do this when it's more severe but def. worth speaking to your doctor or HV before doing anything else.

[ClareC]

I bought a pillow on my friends recommendation. We didn't end up using it but bought it online for @?12. Think it was a Swedish make. We no longer live locally otherwise you would be welcome to it, it's unused.

My friends daughter is 6 now, they only went private because there was no help available from the NHS- different health authority and different time so you may get the treatment on the NHS. I remember her having to wear a contraption that looked like a crash helmet. I suspect hers was a severe case.

Definitely see your Dr as first port of call. Good luck x

[nabz]

thanks everyone for your replys

shes got her vaccinations on wed so i will deffinitly bring it up with the doc and see what they think. i got her weighed 3 weeks ago and did mention to HV and she said to just keep turning her head when shes asleep and if nothing works atleast shel grow hair so it wont be noticable! so i guess if she thought it was bad enough she would have referred me?

im giving her plenty of tummy time now and trying to encourage her to not just lie on her back (but i do find this is her fav position!)

[oimissus]

I thought it was very common these days as the advice is for babies to sleep only on their backs for the first 6 months - Miss Oi had it (I think I always put her down on her back for longer than 6 months, can't remember now), but at 2 and a half she looks OK. Never thought to get it checked out, ooops.

[Fuschia]

I would see the gp. I know someone who was reassured by the hv, wrongly, and her child was quite seriously affected, by the time they saw the gp and got referred, there was permanent damage to her son's neck (torticollis plus flat head)

[SEGirl]

www.amby.co.uk

Best thing ever and my little one loved it!

[Saffron]

Yes, baby hammocks are brilliant. We also had the Amby.

[mima08]

I agree with Fuschia - get it checked out, just for peace of mind. My son did not have a flat head but the cranial osteopath who I went to see because of his constant crying to was concerned about the shape of his head. I only went to the GP because the osteopath strongly recommended it (the hv had not raised it at all), and it turned out he had craniosynostosis. Luckily a very simple version and it was corrected and now you would never know about, looking at him. It is very very rare, but the earlier these things are found the better. Good luck!

[Spooner]

I've got twins and one has a flat head. I so wish I had noticed before the doctor pointed it out at the 6 week check up as the damage can be done very early on apparently. Her head was quite bad by the time it was pointed out to us and we couldn't get her to sleep in other positions as her neck had tightened up. Try and get your baby to sleep in as many varied positions and as soon as possible.

We were referred by our GP and saw various specialists. We felt happy with the NHS treatment we got. She had about 4 developmental checks and they concluded that it is just a cosmetic thing. I would definitely advise you to go to the doctor so you can have similar checks - most likely it is nothing serious and purely due to awkward positioning but there can be another less common cause which is more serious.

You'll probably be told her development isn't affected and it will get better with age as we were. I did consider helmets as I don't want her to be bullied when older due to a wonky head. Doctors aren't very pro-helmets if it's just cosmetic and you'd most likely have to go private. In the end we decided to hope they are right and that it gets better with age. She's got hair now so it's not as noticeable and I try not to look down at her head from above as 1 ear is about a mile more forward than the other one!

Good luck.

[nabz]

Thanks everyone for posts, i keep looking at her head... Sometimes i think it looks bad then sometimes i think its fine :S but im taking her tomorrow to gp so will let you know what they say praying theres nothing wrong with her!!!

[MelissaVF]

Hi,

My twins had desperately wonky heads and we ended up with the helmet treatment. Happy to answer qs on the condition (they had plagiocephaly) if you want to send me a pm. I also used the pillows and am doing so with baby number three as preventative measure. The Swedish ones are pretty good. I also tried cranio osteopathy - did nothing, physio via GP - helpful but too late! And lots of tummy time - at least they crawled fairly quickly!

[RobMiller]

We had a similar issue for our twin boys. After a lot of deliberation we went for the helmets too and are pleased we did. It's a very tricky decision though as the GP and consultant advice isn't well evidenced or consistent (and family members who are medical professionals were sceptical as well), and it's not cheap either. As a starter I'd recommend talking to your GP and asking for a referral to the specialists at Kings.

I'd be happy to discuss if that's helpful, and I'd recommend talking to Elaine Gregory at the Dulwich Therapy Rooms (http://www.dulwichtherapyrooms.co.uk/osteopaths/4522189296) as she really helped us think through what to do and wasn't pushing us one way or the other. PM me if I can help at all.

Rob

[Edited to make the link a link...]