Back of head flat

[littlejoy]

Hi
My 11 week old boy has a flat head at the back as he lays on it constantly when he sleeps.... I have tried everything from turning his head every 20 mins to packing him so he is elevated on one side to wedges and nothing seems to encourage him to turn his head to the side.... people tell me that it will fix itself but I have a friend whos son is 2.5 years old and he still has a really flat head!! Does anyone have any suggestions or has anyone had this problem and it did fix itself??? Thanks in advance for any help!!!

[Elfin]

My friends baby had this exact problem and her MCHN referred her to a paediatric (sp) physio. THey did some exercises and the problem was fixed very quick. It might be worth investigating this, you don't need a referral but if you go through child health I think it is free but there might be a big wait. Otherwise you can pay yourself.

[mum2peanut]

My paediatrician told me to make sure you alternate the way they lie in their cot. She said babies tend to face the direction that parents approach them from/or face the wall if there's something interesting there.
My friends bub wouldn't change so whe had to roll up a cloth nappy and prop him up so he couldn't really turn the other way, a suggestion form her paed. His head is fine now.
It is sommon for babies to have flat heads now as they have to sleep on thie back, but my paed did say that it can end up mishapening the front of the head if their soft little bones push outwards at the front.
If you're really concerned go and see you paed.
Hope that helps. :)

[~Chick79~]

my nearly 6mth old has a flat head at the back... has had it pretty much right from the beginning but yet my little boy won't sleep or lie on his back.... the only time he is on his back is when he goes to sleep at night. Otherwise during the day he will only settle on his tummy :detective:

Sorry don't have much advice.... my paed is monitoring the growth size of his head and so far it has been normal...

[Buddha Bubbas]

my son is the same. i pointed it out my my ECHN and she suggested i get a referral from my doctor to see a neurosurgeon at the 'helmet' clinic. sorry i do not know the technical name. ECHN said that as soon as the DR see DS head they will be able to tell wether it needs to be corrected (helmt or op) or it could correct itself once he is sitting up and not laying on it so much. i made an appointment 4 weeks ago and i still have 4 weeks to wait. you could go and see your doctor and get a referral. best to get it checked out rather than leave it.

:hugs: Goodluck

[Niki]

my baby is 10months old and has a flat head but it enegetic from my family, my dad has one my auntys have one...its not super flat but it is flat iykwim he has never slpet on his back either he sleeps on his side

[Tam-I-Am]

My DD also had a flat spot on her head (its called a plagiocephaly), and I took her to a really well renowned paediatric chiropractor in the region - they gave me the following information on a sheet -


Quote:
It seems that babies with flat spots on their heads are far more common than they used to be. The cause is often linked to the more recent practice of sleeping babies on their back to minimize the risk of SIDS. While sleeping posture may contribute to an increase in babies with flat spots on their head it is not the only reason. In some infants the distorted head shape will resolve at an early age, for others it persists. The question of why it only develops in some babies, regardless of sleeping position, and the consequences on the development of the child are important. Chiropractic research can offer some answers to these questions.
Does it matter if my baby has a flat spot?
Yes. Recently published research has shown that if the abnormal head shape remains unresolved, unequal brain development may occur wiht subsequent school learning problems developing. It has the capcity to prevent a child from reaching their maximum potential.
Treatment
When a child is put back into structural balance with gentle, safe, chiropractic adjustments the natural growth of the brain will push the head slowly and permanently back into shape. Children who have chiropractic care respond best when that care is given early in life, preferably before they are four months old. The commonness of this problem today and its potential consequences is a key reason why infant health care is of life long benefit.

I also found this (http://kidshealth.org/parent/general...iocephaly.html) link on it

I took DD to the chiro when she was 6 months old. It was pretty severe (25 degrees out) and she is 16 months old now and it has resolved - she no longer has the plagiocephaly. It might be worth seeing a paediatric chiro.

[Africamum]

Clarabelle

My DS has a flat head from birth, it was really obvious as one side of his face looks like it is pushed forward - not badley but you could tell. (Family would whisper about it in the corridors) Because of his flat spot he would only lay on one side. A CHN told me "to just turn his head so that he lays on the other side" and then tried to demonstrate and then she realised how determined he was about being only on one side. Although she didn't refer me to anyone.

At 8 weeks I took him to a physio (at St Giles in Launceston), My SIL is a speach therapist there and knew the services they offered - I wouldn't have had a clue otherwise!

The physio was great she showed us some great techniques to get DS to start to turn his head, the exercises were very easy to follow and we got some great advice on setting up his room and orienting ourselves to get him to start looking the other way. DS will now sleep on either side. When next in Australia I will take him back to see if he needs a skull cap (flat heads are not prevelent in East Africa as babies are still put to sleep on their stomach:eek: )

Goodluck,

Carolyn

[littlejoy]

Thank you to everyone for your replies!!!!!!!! Sometimes I don't know what I would do without BubHub it is great to have such a wonderful bunch of Mummas at your finger tips!!!! I went to my GP today he looked at Riley's head and said that it is not that bad and that it will fix itself. I still don't believe him.. I am going to my clinic nurse of Friday so I will speak to her about the Paediatric Pysio and see what she says then I will try to get a referral!! Thanks again. If anyone knows of a good one in Sydney could you please PM me... thanks!!!:)

[be-be]

My son is 11 weeks old too. He has a flat head on his right side. We have tried wedges and all that stuff and it doesn't seem to be working.
I was looking on the net today and alot of sites said that if cranial repositioning (positional plagiocephaly) doesn't work you need to get a referral from your GP to see a peadiatrition, pediatric neurosurgeon or a craniofacial specialist. If it is a severe case of flat head they might even suggest cranial orthotic therapy, thats where they make a special helmet for the baby to wear to try and fix the flat spot.
If you like maybe you can also try and make a small donut shaped pillow(by just using a small towel or cloth to help ease the pressure off the head.
Alot of people have said that doctors have told them that it should fix itself by around 1 year.But if your like me, i am not willing to wait and see if it does because i could never live with myself if it didnt work and i didn't do everything in my power to help fix it.

sorry if i went on a bit.
:fingerscrossed: Good luck with everything

[Gruffalo]

:wave:

My boy had a flat head too and I mean really flat it was so noticeable. I was quite concerned and stressed over it as everyone had their own opinion they just had to share. But now you'd never guess as its totally gone.
Or maybe the mop is just covering it :laughing:

[dudesmum]

I've just been to the chiro today with DS, he's been going there since he was 6wks, he had a very badly seized neck and has only just stopped favouring his right side after nearly 2 mnths of treatment. As a result of this he has a very flat and mishapen head, so we are off to the "melon doctor", who in laymens terms is an osteopath who specialises in very gently manipulating babies cranial bones back into a better shape. I'm sure there's other "melon doctors" around the place that do the same thing. You don't need any referals from GP's or anything like that and no need for the helmets, hopefully :fingerscrossed:
Just ask your local chiropractor, or look up osteopaths in the yellow pages, just make sure they are fully accredited, and most private health funds have a rebate for this sort of thing. I'll let you know how DS goes.

[MountainGirl]

Hi Dudesmum,.. when you say very flat and mishapen, what do you mean? Jasper is favouring his left side,.and has a flat spot so that his head looks like it has a lean to it! I am pretty worried about it and have started to sleep him at the other end of his cot (so that he has to turn the other way to face the room),..... Will see the GP this week to see what the next step should be,.... poor little guy,...

[dudesmum]

Hiya Scarlett_jasper,

well Sebastian's head looks ok from the front, but from the back it's very lopsided, it's extremely flat on the right hand side and the top of his head is starting to get a bit coneheadey! The chiro also said something about the bone at the bottom of his skull sticking out at a weird angle, because of the pressure, and that can cause problems in the future. My chiro, and also my GP reckon that it will be all fine with a little bit of manipulation and he will have a perfectly round head by the time he's 1.

He still favours his right side, but that's mainly becuase of the flat bit, his head just sits better on that part. I'm not overly worried about it, I caught it early and I can see improvement nearly daily with his neck, so I'm hoping the same will happen with his noggin' :)

[MountainGirl]

thanks for thar Dudesmum,... when you say manipulation, what do you mean?

[dudesmum]

Well what my chiro has been doing, and what the osteopath will also do, is just really cup his head in their hands and apply even pressure to manipulate the bones/plates into the right place or shape. It's a similar thing to what the helmets and other things do but they take it slowly and can feel every single change so they know when to stop. Plus DS loves it, he just blisses out every time, so that has to be a good thing.:thumbsup:

I've also read that in other cultures they sometimes wrap their baby's heads in a tight scarf each day to ensure the correct head shape, or massage them twice a day, and that some cultures revere people with "pointy" heads and other's with completely round etc. Amazing all that really!

[MountainGirl]

Just to let you know that I took Jas. to the paeditrician today,....and she isnt concerned about his head,...apparently it is very mild,.... but she could see that I wadnt overly convinced so has given me a referral to a paediatric physio for some excercises,... phew!:)