Clubfoot

Clubfoot is a birth deformity of the foot and affects approximately one out of every 1,000 live births. Because clubfoot begins to develop in a fetus during the first trimester and the foot is generally rigid and stiff at birth.

Usually, the foot that is deformed will be smaller than usual and the heel will appear to point downwards while the forefoot turns inward. It is not possible to place the foot flat. After the baby is delivered, a doctor can easily make a diagnosis based on a physical examination of the affected foot. Sometimes, diagnosis can be made on an ultrasound examination during a prenatal visit.

Clubfoot must be treated and if it is not properly treated, it will continue to get worse and become disabling. Most doctors suggest beginning treatment immediately. There are different treatment options available ranging from casting, stretching and manipulation to surgical treatment.

Comments: Clubfoot

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lauralou - 174 days ago.
hi everyone, my little boy was born with talipes (clubfoot).... hes now almost 3 and part way through his treatment, Ponsetti method. If anyone wants to ask anything please feel free to message me, i am more than happy to share experience etc, and i know how scary it can be to find out your baby has talipes. xxx i always forget where iv posted things on here so just message me :) haha xx

lin - 205 days ago.
I think that in most cases this is a very minor correction and now a days with new procedures the chances of living in constant pain or any discomfort caused from a clubbed foot at all is very rare. I realize some cases are way worse than others but with early intervention and excellent health care living with 'pain' is not very common.

luvbugs - 209 days ago.
My sister had clubfeet-both were affected. They started out with casting, which helped in 1 foot but the other foot eventually needed surgery to correct. At 19 she had to have another surgery on the same foot, due to the bones in her foot collapsing due to her bone structure from the clubfoot. They used many screws, pins and plates to put her foot back together. That being said, though she is in constant severe pain she is one of the most active person I know-Mountain biking, hiking mountains, ect.

raindrop0208 - 211 days ago.
I had a clubbed foot as a baby. There is a cute picture of me wearing my dad's military beret and a little cast on my foot. I don't remember a thing about it and have had no problems with my foot. Running, gymnastics...you name it =)

~Tammy~ - 216 days ago.
Hi mommies, Im 32 weeks pregnant and its confirmed that this baby definitely has one clubbed foot and the other foot could possibly be fine.

hoping4mymiracle - 342 days ago.
Just wanted to say hi to all you ladies my son was born with 2 clubbed feet 5 years ago now. He had the casting and heel cut as well as wore the shoes timm he was a year and half. About a year ago I started to notice the left one started to turn under a bit again so we tried splints with out luck. It kept the right from turning I guess but the left has gotten worse. We will be going for surgery sometime this month so try and correct the muscles in his legs. just want to with all you gals and kids good luck!!

lin - 346 days ago.
charmara- Those sweet little feet grow on you dont they! I remember taking a ton of pictures of my sons, they were casted right away but the first week without I was also little sad. My son was also born with mild hypospadia and at 18 weeks in utero he had enlarged brain ventricles which later corrected in week 35. Curious to know if Max has any of these in common.

charmara - 347 days ago.
Max gets his casts on on the 31st! I have gotten used to the feet and will be a little sad to see them go, but he will be happy in the end :) Lin- yay! :)

lin - 350 days ago.
Excited to report that baby #3 does not appear to have a clubfoot! Baby #1 had a left club foot, and baby #2 did not.

charmara - 399 days ago.
Talansmommy- That sounds like what they are planning on doing to help correct my sons feet. Thank you for the info. very helpful and encouraging.

lin - 401 days ago.
Good points Talonsmommy. I also was on that site a lot with my son, a great resource. I had not heard that Dr Ponsetti had passed away! Thats too bad, what a dedicated man, worked right up until his death.

talansmommy - 401 days ago.
My son was born with a lt clubfoot. It was not detected on US so it was a surprise to us. We initally recieved treatment at our local hospital but then went to Iowa City to see Dr. Ponseti before he passed. We now see Dr. Marquende for f/u. What I can tell you is to do your research and find a Dr. that is certified in the Ponseti method. Some of you speak of surgery and as a mother of a clubfoot child and a nurse, I can tell you surgery is not always the best option. There is a great website that has a forums that talk about clubfoot. I have found it very helpful to talk to other mom's about the challenges of clubfoot. nosurgery4clubfoot@yahoogroups.com. While I agree with the other moms that this is not a big deal, I have been in many of your shoes and it is not only challenging but also scary so please let me know if you have any questions. As for a little info on my son, he recieved casts for the first 10 weeks of his life followed by a tenotomy and now wears a brace at night. He walks and run and is very active!

sarahjay - 418 days ago.
you wouldnt be able to tell by looking at my 3 year old that she had clubfeet. They can range in severity, my daughter required casts and had bone resets, she worse special shoes and SMOS until she was 2 and ahalf, but the good news is, my daughter learned to walk in hwer casts at 9 and a half months old. It is such an easy issue to correct, and baby legs legwarmers are a godsend to keep toes warm and put some cuteness over the casts. They practically hid her entire casts. Id suggest buying a few pairs. The only problem adia has now is some over developed thigh muscles from learning to walk and lug the casts around, and really it isnt a problem at all, we just buy her bigger jeans to fit her hulk thighs :) try not to stress, it is totally correctable and not worth crying over, your baby is STILL perfect.

felicity.hamby@yahoo.com - 455 days ago.
Trust me, club foot is not a big deal and can be handled easily. my 5 and a half month old son has it and just fould out im pregnant today and if my new baby does to then it just does. well fix it. actually little avery's was cute, it was like a hook and sometimes he would have his leg on ur arm and it was like his foot was holding you. i love every part of it. babies are perfect no matter what.

charmara - 482 days ago.
rosie- I also have been told my unborn child has 2 club feet. In all the research I have seen I think it depends on the severity. Plus there is surgery and other ways to fix or almost fix the club feet. So what I get from all the info is that yes they can walk after the foot/feet are fixed.

rosie2010 - 486 days ago.
hey just a quick question i have been told my unborn baby has spina bifida plus they have said he has clubfoot will no for sure properly on the 2nd november. but can a child walk when they have club foot. thanks

lin - 545 days ago.
Another update! My son who was born with a left club foot will be 3 in a week!! Wow how time flies. I always forget that he even had a club foot until one of his yearly checkups rolls around. So wonderful how easy it is to correct this! Hope all you mommies are doing great and NOT STRESSING over a silly little clubfoot. So not worth the tears and worry TRUST ME!

ninniebaby3 - 588 days ago.
hello, i was just popping in on this page. i am 27 and 13 weeks pregnant. when i was a baby i was born with a very bad club foot. the pics look like my foot was on backwords. back than it was harder to fix than it is now. i had to wear a brace and shoe thing every day for the first year of my life. but you would never be able to tell now. i learned how to walk in the brace/bar/shoe get up at 9 months old. the only thing i have now witch i think is a little funny is when i walk my sock rolls over. the bottom on the sock rolls to the top. only on the foot that was clubed. i think it is just how i step on it when i walk. but other than that. it is perfect. please have hope if they were able to work that kind of wonders when back in the early 80s than now it much be like nothing to fix.

sherberr3 - 615 days ago.
I'm 29 wks pregnant with identical twin boys, but only one of the them has bi-lateral clubbed feet. They told me in my case it's most likely not genetic b/c then both of my babies should have the problem. We do have a lot of people in our family with pigeon toedness though and she thought that may be part of it, I guess it left me a little confused. I'm glad to hear all the positive stories on here, its making me freak out a little less. So thanks :)

lin - 621 days ago.
Hi Angelia!! I am rarely on here anymore either but its so nice to hear an update from you!

Angelia - 712 days ago.
My son, Tristan, is now 18 months old. You would never guess he had club foot. He was treated by Dr. Latz at Children's Mercy in Kansas City, MO. He saw Dr. Dobbs in St. Louis, MO for a second opinion when he was 15 months (my doctor's suggestion as he just wanted to be sure) and Dr Dobbs said the correction looks great. We and my husbands family that are affected are part of Dr Dobbs research. We started with Markell shoes and switched to Mitchell's, which work much better. For a long time my son had the Ponsetti bar but we switched at 15 months to the Dobbs Dynamic Bar to give more leg movement. My son's first cast was at 10 days old, he had 5 weekly casts, tenotomy, cast for 3 weeks and then went to the shoes and bar. After 3 months of wearing them 24/7 he was able to slowly reduce to only wearing at night. He did EVERYTHING developmentally on time. He actually seemed to do some things sooner, likely because he was stronger due to the casts, shoes, and bar. I rarely come to this site so I put a longer post in case anyone is also going through this VERY treatable condition with their baby. During my time I had a lot of contact with Lin... she gave me the emotional support I needed... THANKS LIN!!!!

firsttimemom2be16 - 757 days ago.
*My Brother was born with Clubfoot really bad in both feet. It was fixed and he is now 28 yrs old with no problems. He played Football from fourth grade until he graduated, Baseball from 6th grade- graduation and basketball with his friends all the time. He is still very athletic to this day. He is older than me and I was not born with clubfoot at all. I hope this is of some help and encouragement to all of you mothers out there with Children who have Clubfoot*

lin - 759 days ago.
well said...my son also had a club foot when he was born, he is two and RUNS everywhere! My second son was born with normal feet. This is not something to stress about, especially when you consider how minor this is compared to other anomolies.

boyoboy - 763 days ago.
If anyone is new or worried about clubfoot please post on my page my son was diagnosed with bi-lateral club feet severe and he's 18 mos. running around and I'm pregnant with our second and the genetic counselor said the odds are this one will have it too, find out Feb. 1. Don't worry this condition is fixable!

SydneeMay2009 - 952 days ago.
warriorgal-Not to get your hopes up too much, but my daughter was diagnosed by several doctors with clubfoot through ultrasound and was born with two perfectly normal feet!