plagiocephaly or flat head ?

blessedandhopeful

If your baby developed a flat head early on, did it resolve itself, or did you have to take measures such as a helmet or physical therapy? I just noticed that LO has a slight flat area on the right side of his head, and he is also starting to show the other signs of flat head, such as hunched shoulders. He'll be two months in a few weeks, so did I catch it early enough to resolve on its own? Since it is slight, should I still make an appointment for the doctor to check it out? I am freaking out that I might have caused damage to my LO's development simply from letting him sleep in the RnP sleeper too much.

TIA for any advice or info 

mel72

DS1 had a very mild flat spot on his left side b/c he favored it while sleeping and we were able to correct through aggressive repositioning - especially during playtime. 

DS2 had a severe flat head in the back by two months which was causing his head to bulge above the ears and shift everything forward.  He was in the doc band for about 9 weeks and had huge improvement.  His measurements are just a hair outside of normal. FWIW, we did nothing different w/ our 2nd than we did w/ our first.  He's a very big boy and they think because he was such a good sleeper (STTN starting at 8 weeks versus 16 months for his brother) and favored sleeping on his back, combined w/ being bigger and perhaps having a softer skull caused the severe flattening.  No amount of tummy time helped and I was unable to move him at night, he eventually wound up on his back.  I do stare a LOT at children's heads now, especially boys and I can tell those who have not had correction.  IMO, it does not look horrible, as in something they are going to be teased about but I can spot it b/c I know what I am looking for.  If you are concerned, definitely check w/ your pedi for a referral.  We went through Cranial Tech.  GL!

Lynzk05

Definitely have the doctor check it out. Two months is most likely early enough to do some positional therapy to correct it at home. Since the flat spot is on the right side and not centered makes me think that your LO could have torticollis which is what was wrong with my LO. Does he have a hard time looking to his left? Or is he always looking or rolling to his right? If so the doctor will probably refer you to a physical therapist to resolve the torticollis and recommend some positioning techniques for home.

 My LO was in a helmet for 7 weeks starting at 6 months. She went to PT for a couple of months. It is good that you caught it early, don't stress it is more common than you think and most likely will resolve without a helmet at his age.

blessedandhopeful

I am mostly worried about any possible developmental delays it could cause. Did either of you experience delays with your children as a result of it?

SimoneSays22

My kid had a moderate flat spot on the his right side. We used the Boppy Noggin Nest and repositioning. It corrected itself and you can barely tell now. I have not noticed any delays.

mel72

No, we were told that in severe cases it could cause problems w/ the jaw and possibly problems fitting into sports helmets but his flatness was on the severe end.  They rec. a 2nd band but he is so close to the normal range now that at this time we aren't going to do it.  Do know that the longer you wait, the longer it may take, resulting in more bands.  Here is a good link if you are interested.

https://cranialtech.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=94&Itemid=81

newly_naugler

• We caught it early, at 7 weeks. With a lot of postional correction (sleeping with rolled towel, tons of tummy time, limited time in swing) and time, it really improved. I can still see it a bit but that's because I know where to look. I did take him to the Dr to have it checked and the Dr told me it would resolve on it's own as he gets older, spending less time on his back. I worried so much about it, but turns out he was right. FWIW, I don't think you caused it by using the PNP.

 

JillAly

I went through this with my son and happened to get one of the best pediatric plastic surgeons who deals solely with plagacephaly and cleft palates.  He was wonderful explaining everything as we went along.  So I'll tell you what he told me.

99% of the time, it goes away by itself.  We as parents want things fixed NOW but mother nature takes a little longer to correct it.  We need to learn to be patient about it.   He asked me whether I have seen any adults or older kids with a flat head.  It was a good point- mother nature does correct things.

Except for one issue which I'll mention in a minute, the flat head is totally cosmetic and will have no effect on development or brain function.  The only time where it is a problem is when the skull plates have fused together - then surgery needs to be done.  He said that number is incredibly small and it is easy for a pediatrician or plastic surgeon to see.  That's why doctors check their heads at check-ups.

Why shouldn't the plates be fused already?  Because the brain is still growing.  The skull doesn't grow. The brain grows and it pushes the skull outward.  When a flat spot occurs, it means the brain isn't able to push out on that side (because the baby is always lying on that spot) and so the brain will push in the other directions.  The brain likes to go in the path of least resistance so it won't fight to push on the side where the baby is lying.  That is why babies at 6 months start to fix the flat spot issue- they sit up a lot more and aren't always on their backs. 

So what can you do to help the brain be able to push out on that flat spot?  Keep your baby off that spot as much as possible.  Carry then, sit them up, position them at night so they can't lie on that side.  All those things will help mother nature do what it needs to do - push the skull out on that side and even out the head.

When it doesn't fix itself around 6-7 months, some babies wear the helmet.  My doctor said it is the last thing he recommends and only in extreme, extreme cases.  It doesn't do anything mother nature can't do.  It just does it faster and if the flat spot is extreme, it makes parents feel better to see faster results and can help avoid asymmetrical issues with eyes, ears. 

My son ended up not needing the helmet.  My friend's daughter did.  Her daughter looked fine from the front but when you looked at the back of her head, it was as if something chopped the back off - it was completely flat.  Much more extreme than my son's flat spot- although to me of course, it was traumatic to see any flat spot.

 We just went for visits several times and he measured the sides of the head to see how he was progressing.  Think of an X.  He did it one direction (eye to back in the X) and then the other side.  The difference had to be less than 10mm to be considered "normal".  We were at 15-19 until he hit 7 months and then he was in the normal range.  That is all they will do while monitoring your LO. 

I hope this helps.