For lllovell and other parents with newborns...

[Rash]

First of all, congratulations!

I wanted to give you the heads up on a condition that we, unfortunately, were not aware of until now.

My 2 mo son Evan was just diagnosed with Positional Plagiocephaly. That's basically a fancy way of saying mis-shapen head due to external forces. Basically, when a baby spends too much time on it's back (crib, car seat, bouncy seat) the occipital bone of the skull flattens and pushes everything forward. Here's a photo, which is strikinging similar to Evan's appearance:

http://www.cranialtech.com/images/MedicalInfo/headshape_plagio.jpg

As you can see, the right side of the back of the head is flattened, pushing the ear and temple forward.

The incidence of plagiocephaly has increased from 1 in 300 to 1 in 60 since the "Back To Sleep" campaign to prevent SIDS occured. Almost all parents know that it's best for kids to sleep on their backs to prevent SIDS. Unfortunately, most are not educated about the risk of pagliocephaly that goes along with this sleep position. Although mostly cosmetic, severe cases can cause jaw and vision difficulties.

The treatment, at first, is to prevent your baby from sleeping or laying on the flat spot. This "repositioning" can, over three months or so, reduce the head assymetry. If this does not work, a cranial band, or helmet, is worn for four months or so which forces the skull to re-form to a more symmetric appearance. The helmet is typically $3000, is often not covered by insurance, and sometimes two are needed if your baby outgrows the first one before treatment is successful.

So, how do you prevent it? Basically by alternating your baby's position regularly. More (supervised) tummy time and less car-seat, swing, or bouncy chair time helps. In the crib, rotate your baby 180 degrees occasionally, move the crib elsewhere in the room so the baby turns his/her head in the opposite direction (they usually look away from the wall), or place a toy in the crib that your baby will turn his/her head towards.

I wish I had known all of this before it happened to our son. Every child is different, as is evident by the fact that we did nothing different with our daughter and she is fine. Still, if I can help one parent prevent one child from developing this, I'll feel some small measure of comfort.

If interested, here are some useful links:

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/112/1/199
http://www.cranialtech.com/MedicalInfo/plagiocephaly.html
http://www.plagiocephaly.org/support/repotech.htm
http://www.plagiocephaly.org/support/faq.htm

[jnrrt]

We experienced this with our second child. By the time we noticed the problem, she would not go to sleep without turning her head the direction we wanted to prevent. We put a baby mirror in the crib on the side we wanted her to turn to, and that worked wonders. Along with that and being more aware of it, that was all the help she needed. Hopefully, that will be the case for your son, too, Rash! I have to say the mirror was a lot cheaper than one of those helmets.

[Rash]

Was the flattening as severe as the picture in my first post? Did it completely resolve?

[withdisneyspirit]

Hi there Rash! I just know that Evan's plagiocephaly will resolve with the steps you have been learning about. Even if you did have to get the helmet, don't hesitate to do that for him!!

This did not happen to my children, so I don't have personal experience. I did, however, have experience with this when, at 15 years old, we had a Vietnamese family living in our home with us for six months. My father was in Vietnam and made a good friend. He found him and his family at Camp Pendleton and brought them to Alabama. The mother was pregnant at the time and after the birth, she kept the baby in the same position all the time. Now I know that you aren't doing that, but she did. My mother advised her to change the baby's position, but she refused to. I witnessed all this so I knew this could happen.

I hope your doctor was positive with you about this because at least Evan is only two months old!! I just know, if you're diligent (and the mirror is a fabulous idea), this problem will resolve fairly soon. Please let us know and I will send my prayers for an easy healing :)

[jnrrt]

Honestly, Rash, I don't remember if her head was that flattened, but it was enough that it had shifted all her facial features. In fact, I remember feeling pretty stupid that we didn't notice it ourselves. Our pediatrician noticed, and once she pointed it out, it was extremely obvious. I mostly held her in the same position, though, and the way she was facing me, I didn't notice until it was pointed out. Then I felt terrible.

I am sure, though, that we did not know until she was more like 3 months, and it was completely resolved pretty darn quickly. The biggest problem is that the more flattened the head has gotten, the more the baby wants to lie that way, so we did have trouble getting her to turn at first. Since your son is only 2 months, and the bones of his head are still shifting and very pliable, I'm guessing he'll be fine now that you're aware of it. My pediatrician said they get most concerned when it's allowed to go until the point where the bones of the skull start to fuse. And as I said, the mirror was great because babies love faces. At the beginning, I think we also rested it on the side of her car seat a good bit to get her to turn, or put her sister on that side of her in the car. We'd also make sure that we'd talk to her from the side we wanted her to turn to when she was lying on the floor, or faced her bouncy chair so she'd have to turn to look at us if she was in the kitchen, or whatever. Like I said, once you're aware of it, you can think of things to even it out pretty easily, and your son is so young, he should be fine. Also, what you were saying about changing which direction they're lying in the crib every couple of days is very helpful once you get it sorted out.

Just one more thing to worry about, right?

[Rash]

Thank you both for the info and replies. I am very glad this was caught early, as the prognosis is much better. We'l keep out fingers crossed that the re-positioning alone will do the trick, but we'll of course do whatever is necessary.

[PoohsPal]

Rash - 2 of my nephews had this. (Yes, you think they would have learned after the first one.) The first one was VERY close to having to wear a helmet. It was not as severe as Evan's, but definitely noticeable. On the flip side, it was 4 to 6 months before tehy noticed. I would think corrective actions now will really help.

So sorry to hear that there's yet another hurdle in front of you. My first nephew who had it is 6 now. When are they going tos tart educating people on this?

I'll send some extra prayers and pixie dust your way.

[TW1]

Sending prayers, dear Rash.

It sure sounds like you and Mrs and on top of this, which is a good thing. Evan's a lucky boy to have caring and concerned parents who aren't shy about asking for help.

Hang in there!

[Rash]

Thanks for the concern and replies, PoohsPal and TW1. :)

[UsedtobeSmith]

Our boy had this.... it was pretty bad (not as bad as the picture though) and his one side is still a tiny bit flat, but everything shifted back to where it is suppose to be. It was a PITA... he kept turning his head back to the flat spot... I would move it to the left, he would roll back right.... move it to the left... roll back right.... I finally took a thin baby blanket (spit up rag lol) and rolled it up to keep him on his left side... but just a little, kinda like a door stop. Just enough so he wouldnt roll to the right, and not too much that he would roll all the way over to the left.
I made sure I did that for floor time esp, since the wood floor was hard.

[kathleena]

Aw! Feeling for all of the Rash Family! Hope things work out well and that the repositioning efforts make all the difference!

Unbelievable that insurance won't necessarily cover this!

[cruise-o-matic]

Rash...our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

[lllovell]

Rash - thank you for pointing this out. I am sorry that you are having to go through this with Evan, but like many others here have said, discovering it so early HAS to be important! I have a family friend who has just been told her son has to wear a helmet, so I had been alerted to it, but not made as aware as hearing your stories here.

We will keep you in our thoughts and prayers hun!