Flat Head Syndrome

How can doctors treat my child's flat head?

Comments: Flat Head Syndrome

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Nicky2009 - 712 days ago.
My son's head had a very noticable flat spot on the side/back. The doctor said it would go away by itself, but I did't really believe him. He is now 26 months and his head is slowly getting better. I have hope that it will completely go away. He's never had any treatment, but as soon as he was old enough he naturally liked sleeping on his belly and I think that helped too.

La Mama - 860 days ago.
My baby is 3 months old, do you think she has flat head syndrome or is it to early to tell. The back of her head is flat but not as much as the pic of the baby here, but similiar? Please let me know what you ladys think. THANKS

senait - 1171 days ago.
I need help pleas my name is senait my son head is very big it look weard to me he is 30 month now at frist his head was look normal but now is getting relly big then others kid i dont now what to do it is to late to take his to the DR dose any one had this happe on one side his head look big is this mean flat or what but he can move his head both sides any idea help thanks my e-mail is shit6t@yahoo.ca

mummy to a gorjis boy and bump! - 1261 days ago.
hello ladies! .. just felt i would leave a comment here as my son who is now nealry 3 suffered from 'flat head syndrome' .. or plagiocephaly as its known! .. i was always told to lie him on his back when sleepin etc and for me this felt the safest way tho everybodys different! .. i noticed his head shape easnt right about 5 months old and took him to the hospital where they told me it would grow back .. or i could grow his hair if it didnt.. very unhappy with this advice i went to a private clinic and had him fitted for the starband helmet .. i cried at first!! but the helmet did not phase my little boy whatsoever he was still his happy little self and after a year his head was back to its normal shape ... i am very happy with the decision i made and a hope this helps a bit!

jaetwister - 1321 days ago.
HELP. I am denei, 23 years old from the Philippines, a first time mom, a single mom to my 5-month old baby (she turned 5 months last Oct. 30). I delivered via emergency CS. I am proud to say she’s beautiful, active and perfectly fine if not only because of her head. She has developed a flat head (I think it is what they call Brachycephaly). For a month I have been solving this problem alone. I have noticed it when well; she’s about 6 weeks old. I was not really worried during that time because I thought it would go back to its proper shape. I was not also aware it might cause a problem. One of my cousins told me before that my baby’s head is very big so I asked the pedia about it but she sad it’s just fine so I disregarded what my cousin have told me. Last month I was not able to bring my baby to her monthly check up. Day by day I noticed that her head is not really big but FLAT. I researched online and found out some advices about repositioning the baby so for almost a month now I have been placing her on her tummy (well I still end up carrying her because she always cry everytime I do that). I try to reposition her on her side during night time (she’s still learning how to roll over). I see limited changes and I am not contented. I am always hurt everytime my relatives tell me “YOUR BABY’S HEAD IS SOOOO FLAT!”.(I swear she almost looks like the baby in the pic above). Maybe because they don’t know how my heart is crying as a mother. I really wanna help my baby have a perfect round head. I don’t want her to blame me in the future for not doing my best to reshape her head but how can I do that when I don’t even know if that “positioning helmet” exists in the Philippines and if by chance it is, I am sure I would not be able to afford it. There isn’t that much insurance here in the Philippines. I am just a single mom and I can’t even afford to bring her to her monthly check up. Hopefully I could get back to work next month and seek for a little help from doctors but I am afraid she’d already be 7 months during that time.. (sigh..) I am getting worried. I am looking for any support group that can be able to advise me on what to do, or offer any financial aid. If you could give me advice, help or any assistance, could you please email me at fejudinaesabado@yahoo.com? I would really appreciate any assistance you could give me. As of now, I am still doing my best to reposition her, but I know she’ll have self-confidence if she’ll have a perfect round head. I believe positioners/helmets aren’t just for cosmetics but reconstructive. I don’t want to regret in the future. I hope you could help me. Thank you very much..

RobinG - 1377 days ago.
I too had my babies on their sides, not a fan of back sleeping. Thankfully my kids didnt have a concern and I too feel it was from side sleeping. Every doc is different though in what they suggest. I prefer side sleeping in case of spit up ~

Hippie Mama - 1377 days ago.
Redbeamer- my doctor told me to lay daizy on her back... even when her head was getting the flat spot. I asked about switching head positions but she said not too. Eventually I just moved her head to each side rotating nights, then as she started sitting up on her own, the situation fixed itself.

redbeamer - 1378 days ago.
Not bragging at all... Making a statement is more like it... When i had my daughter 13 years ago... my sister told me never lay her on the back of her head and ALWAYS switch from one side of the head to the other... It seemed to work because she has a perfectly round head... My son too for that matter... He is 13 months and has a perfectly round head... My hubby had to be told because he was a new daddy, but switched him from side to side. I see a lot of babies around with flat heads. I think a lot of mother are unaware of things like this happening because they don't tell you things like this at the hospital. If more parents were educated there wouldn't be that many... If i wasn't told this by my sister my daughter and son could have had this problem... Than again they were spoiled and hardly ever on the floor because mommy and daddy held them a lot!!!!

mommyexpecting - 1406 days ago.
Gosh I never heard of this till today. My first son slept on his stomache. I didn't even know that my second son was getting one until i read this. He is two months. I'm going to talk to the doc at his next appt. It sounds like something that as long as it's not severe can fix itself with my help of repositioning and stuff. Any suggestions. My baby loves to sleep on his back in a wrap so I ordered one of those boppy noggin nests. Anyone else use this? I hope my baby will be alright and I don't want to have to get a helmet unless I have to.

Hippie Mama - 1409 days ago.
Hi ladies! Thought I'd share my experience I had with my daughter... when she was 3 1/2 mo. the doctor sent her to physical therapy b/c she had an exteremly flat spot on her right side, and the back of her head was flat. they said she would have to go into a helmet in the next month when her neck was stronger. Our physical therapy office was so busy, they said they would call me when they could make the next appt!! We started moving her head to the other side after she fell asleep so she wasn't always laying on the same spot... we moved the position of her swing, and how we laid her so she'd have to use turn her head the other way. We gave her tons more tummy time, and put her in a bumbo chair all the time. We tried to keep her off her back as much as possible. At any rate, when we took her in for her 6 mo appt. the doctor said she didn't need a helmet or physical therapy... we were soooooo happy!! I think just changing so many little things really helped. Now that she's crawling and standing her head is completly normal!! My husband and I were so againest a helmet unless it was absolutly nessessary... I am so glad we waited!!

emnrick - 1409 days ago.
Hi ladies, its my first time on this forum i found this site when i was 20wks pregnant with my now 19wk old son when he was diagnosed with VM. After going back for a check up on his VM the doc told us he now also has Plaiocephaly. His advice was just to try to get him to lie the other way etc and the helmet was basicly a waste of money but as ive found from the VM forum id like real peoples advice if any one could share there experiance or advice id be very greatful x

luv4lukas - 1435 days ago.
My 3 month old son has a flat head. It is very symmetrical from the front and back which is good. But from the side its definiltely not. It doesn't look nearly as bad as the baby example, but it is noticable. My real question is...my son does NOT sleep on his back anymore, he recently discovered that he likes his sides much better. :) But I am just curious if I should worry all that much. I am just REALLY hoping that his head will correct itself out as he grows...but I dont want to regret it if it doesn't. I think I might make an appointment for a peace of mind. Any advice?

AlishaP - 1452 days ago.
My son is having a CT scan tomorrow. He has a flat head. Its not distorting his face at all, just the back of his head is flat....I have changed ways ive held him, and put him in his bumbo and jumperoo more than ever latley. Its getting a whole lot better, but is still flat. He HATES being on his tummy. But i just let him cry because he needs that tummy time. I end up picking him up anyways because after a while, he gets so upset he just lays there and cries like a slug. lol. Has anyone else gone through this, w/o it being really bad, and having to have surgery or something...Id rather have the helmet before surgery but, Id rather not the helmet either, but whatever will help my son, I dont care what it is...I just want him to be healthy, and live a nornal life and be normal :( Im just worrying my lil head off.. His ped. only wants the ct scan because she needs to see his skull and wants to see what has closed up and what is still open...she said its nothing to worry about at all. But I still worry :( Any advice?

sacek - 1469 days ago.
I have a baby boy, almost 10 months old. He has flat head and had torticollis. We\'ve been in phisical therapy since he was 5 months, the torticollis is gone but the flat head is just a little bit better (the flat is in the back on his right side). The craniofacial team said that he had extremely mild asimetry of the skull, but its not that bad to get a helmet. If anyone had a similar case please tell me what happend, thanks...

pinkmama - 1503 days ago.
hello ladies. i have a 17 month old little boy- and when he was 2 months old, he was diagnosed with Plaiocephaly. We were referred to Cranial Technologies where they told us we should try a Doc Band. They said the earlier you have your child wear it, the sooner it can come off. We chose to have him fitted and to have him wear it every day for 23 hours a day.. 6 weeks later it came off, and the before and afer pictures they took, are unbelievable. i didnt notice it before, but once i saw the pictures together--- blew me away. i am so glad we chose to do it when we did... =o)

tquinn - 1508 days ago.
Hey, my som had a very flat head when he was a baby, mostly on the back towards one side. At first they thought of putting in windows in his skull I was like WHAT? I asked for another solution first and they said we could try physical therapy and it worked awesome. It didn't take too much either. Now he is going to be 16 this month and is great. Sometimes I ask if he can still feel the flatness and he says yeah I can a little. Just letting anyone who might wonder what other options you can ask for before they recommend surgery.

elliel - 1508 days ago.
By the way those of you that have a little one under 3 months with flat head - I've noticed a huge difference with Belle's head since I started using the sleepcurve mattress. I' m not sure how much longer I can use it for (as she's nearly 15 weeks now) but her flat spot is barely noticeable now so I am pretty sure she won't need the helmet which is great.

elliel - 1508 days ago.
gagirl - you poor thing - what a nightmare for you and your little one. I do hope your appointments go well. I know it's hard to believe but I saw a programme with LO's who had gone through loads of operations as babies....and when they were about 3 or 4 they did lots of tests to see if it had left any mental scares...and the LO's had absolutely no memory of any of the things they had gone through - so even though all this must feel horrendous right now - your LO won't remember a thing.

gagirl - 1512 days ago.
my son is 4 mths old and has torticollis and a flat head. he has to go to the plastic surgeon for his torticollis 1st , then to the neurosurgeon for his head. he also is about to have open heart surgery for tetralogy of fallot. what more can he take????

anniemarie - 1519 days ago.
bocamom-the twins i used to nanny for started their helmets at about 6 months of age. you have until the 1st year to correct it b/c the skull bones are not yet fused and solid. they are still able to be molded. the helmets worked wonders for them!

bocamom - 1519 days ago.
My daughter is 6 1/2 months and is going to see the specialist next week to see if she needs a helmet. I brought her in to meet with him 6 weeks ago and he told me to wait to see if it would correct itself. She sleeps on her side now, and sits up a lot during the day but it has not improved. I'm sure he will tell us to get the helmet, I just hope its not too late to start this treatment.

elliel - 1538 days ago.
o.k...I've ordered the sleep curve mattress - apparently it can help but I'm not sure my LO will like sleeping on it - it'll arrive in a day or so - I'll let you know how it goes.

elliel - 1541 days ago.
watermelon - you look perfectly lovely in your pics - so thanks for the reassurance. It's frustrating to hear though that you feel that it did affect you a bit. In the UK they are very dismissive of the syndrome and suggest that it usually get's better itself. MYLITTLEANGEL - that's great news

Mylilangel - 1543 days ago.
anniemarie, thanks! Im so looking forward to those photos too. Time has definetly gone by fast.

anniemarie - 1543 days ago.
mylilangel-yeah! that's so exciting! didn't the time seem to go by so fast?! plus you'll have some super cute graduation pics to put hup, lol!