Flat head syndrome. Help- any recommendations? Post Reply

[MGmum]

I have just been told that my five month old son has a very flat head. Do you know a specialist who can provide a helmet? Do the helmets work? I read that the results are not always good so any personal recommendations and sharing of experiences would be very very helpful. Thank you!

[thebuilditworkshop]

Hi,

We got told the same with one of our twin boys around the same age.

We used the sleep curve mattress and it was amazing and sorted it out in a couple of months.

[Nightingale]

From what I learnt when our son developed a flat head at a similar age, helmets are used as a last resort. Have you been advised that is the only option? If not, the pillows can be really helpful. We used one, can't remember what it was called but think I bought it at john lewis or online which had an indent in the middle. However, the cause of my son's flathead turned out to be a stiff neck caused at birth by forceps delivery and as a result he was more prone to sleeping on one side of his head than the other which then caused the flat head. A cranial osteo really helped loosen his head and stopped the problem getting worse. It might be worth speaking to a cranial osteo to see if they can help.

[golfwidow]

Hi there

Definitely see a cranial osteopath first, in case it's the result of something else as per the previous post. If not, we did use a helmet for about six months, as our son's flattening was on one side of his head and so his forehead was beginning to push out on the opposite side too. If he had just been symmetrically flat at the back, then we might not have done it.

Happy to give you the details of who we used and chat more about it if you like.

S

[alranson]

My son had an oddly shaped head and we had to see The Man at Great Ormond St about it. He was very anti helmets because he said the way they work involves putting pressure on the skull and thus on the developing brain within. Also he reckons that there's no sound evidence they really work, they are hot and uncomfortable, and are very expensive (they aren't, as you know, prescribed on the NHS). He wrote an article about this last year which I shall dig out later and post here if you like.

[Michele 8]

I highly highly highly recommend seeing a Cranial Osteopath at The OCC
http://occ.uk.com/
They are a charity located in Wandsworth. My children went for years and they are the only reason I didn't go mad when my daughter would never sleep. Best place ever. They help with whatever ails your child in a no invasive way. They even saw my 19 year old for her headaches.

Good luck.

Michele

[davidisherwood]

We posted this article on our website recently regarding prevention of flat heads. It is something we treat regularly.

http://theosteopath.net/cranial-osteopa ... ead-shape/

Head shapes are continually developing throughout life, any questions please email david@theosteopath.net.

[Hattie]

May I ask the OP a question? Who originally told you that your baby had a flat head? An expert or just someone with an observation?

[alranson]

OK I've found the link to the article that our craniofacial consultant at GOSH contributed to about plagiocephaly. It should be on page 49-50. http://goo.gl/bL5Ilq
I should say that when we saw him in person in clinic he was a lot more vehement about the uselessness of helmets/potential damage they could do...only two years down the line am I finally understanding the code that consultants use when committing anything to paper (eg 'slightly disappointing' means 'absolutely terrible' etc).'

[Hannette3]

Hello,
My son is currently wearing a helmet.
At 10 weeks I noticed he always looked and slept with his head one way and had the beginnings of plagio. We went to the OCC and he has had osteo every 3 weeks since (he is now 11 months). We also used a sleep curve mattress and did lots of tummy time and re-positioning. There was huge improvement with the mobility of his neck and good improvement with the shape of his head but still some flattening/mild asymmetry and at 9 months we were told if we wanted a helmet to further correct his head shape we had to do it then before the plates in the skull start to harden. The osteo would not endorse it (they can't tell you need to do something you might not be able to afford) but they were supportive. It was a hugely emotional decision, especially as he was not a severe case but given the limited time window within which the helmet will be effective (before the plates harden) it made it even harder as a 'now or never' decision, we could not leave it a few more months and see what improvement we got. However, personally for us, knowing that I might keep looking at his head as he grew and wish we had gone for the helmet, we decided to do it. We have also continued osteo and together the results are amazing, in only 3 months. My son is not bothered by it at all, he doesn't even notice it and we have no problems getting it on and off - all of which were my biggest fears.
It is a very personal decision (and an expensive one) but we have no regrets and it has worked. We went to Technology In Motion in Surbiton.
Sorry for the essay...
Very happy to chat, send me a PM, it was an emotional rollercoater and I spoke to other mums who went through the same and their experience and support was invaluable.

[LizzieTheNappy]

My daughter always slept with her head on one side and her head was pretty asymmetric when she was a few months old - very flat on one side at the back and a bit bulgy at the front on one side as a result. I worried about it loads but once she learnt to roll over she started sleeping on her tummy and the asymmetry at the front went away. It was still weird at the back for quite a while but her hair grew and hid it and I rather forgot about it. Anyway, she's 6 now and looks perfectly normal so it obviously straightened out somewhere along the line! I honestly wouldn't worry although remembering how stressed I was, I know it's not easy.

[davidisherwood]

I am a Cranial Osteopath and treat many issues in both adults and have seen many babies. I have lived and worked off Northcote Road for 30 years . I would like to give an opinion on flat head syndrome for the benefit of all current and would be parents.

The head is a double skinned dome, between the skins develops bone. The bones grow towards each other and eventually become more dense and compact with increased calcium. Where they meet they become joints. The whole dome is a continuum with the spinal cord creating a pear shaped structure with a elongated tail. The whole thing is filled with developing neural cells blood vessels and Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). As a whole it expands and contracts (for life) which creates an increase and decrease in pressure which aids the intake of fresh filtered blood or CSF which then departs due to the same pressure into Cerebral and Dural veins or Sinuses.

Given that this warm fluid soft structure spends copious amounts of time laying down it is likely to flatten on the side where most time is spent. A larger or heavier head will likely flatten more.

Once a child begins to sit or walk more then gravity will change the pressure and the head will more likely begin to become normal.

Placing a helmet for the head to grow into a specific shape will of course produce that perfect head shape to match the perfect teeth.

Personally I would like to think that individualism is more attractive. As a man I have never hear of a member of the male species checking the opposite sex for levels of flat headedness, heaven forbid that the fairer sex is checking out our Sphenoid, Parietal Occipital and Temporal bones. Only Cranial Osteopaths seem do this which is why we are not invited out to many parties.

On a more serious note I am more than happy to answer any individual issues by email. david@theosteopath.net www.theosteopath.net

[Tibby]

I highly highly highly recommend seeing a Cranial Osteopath at The OCC
http://occ.uk.com/
They are a charity located in Wandsworth. My children went for years and they are the only reason I didn't go mad when my daughter would never sleep. Best place ever. They help with whatever ails your child in a no invasive way. They even saw my 19 year old for her headaches.
Good luck.
Michele

Completely agree with this poster and all the others that have recommended a Cranial Osteopath. Our little one had a very visible flat head in the back when she was about 8-9 months and we took her for weekly consultations at the OCC in Wandsworth for about 3 months and also used the Swedish pillow specially developed for babies with flat head (Lilla Kuddis). She's nearly 3 years old now and it really improved so much that these days you cannot tell she ever had that problem before.
Like others have said, I would only consider the use of helmets in extreme cases and after a 2nd (or 3rd) opinion.

Good luck!
Tibby

[cosmos99]

As has been said before, this is a very emotive topic. My son had a very flat head at the age of 4 months. In fact it was one of the highly recommended local cranial osteopaths that said we should look at getting a helmet. Our son was diagnosed with a severe flat head - like the back of his head had been sheared off.
We were lucky that he was a very good eater and sleeper but this meant he spent over 14 hours a day lying on his back sleeping, so we were worried that it would continue to get worse. After much consideration we decided to go to LOC and started treatment with a helmet at 5 months.

The helmet bothered us more than it did our son and he slept it in with no problems. We did get some looks from other parents who clearly disapproved of our decision but we are very very happy that this is the route we took. Sure, for some the flat head sorts itself out. However for us, we could not take the risk that it would not improve significantly and I would never forgive myself if I could've done something to make it better. We stopped the helmet after 8 months and our sons head is hugely improved but not perfect.

You have to do what you feel is right for you and your child. If you do decide to go with the helmet route, I hope others understand that this is a difficult decision and support you with it.

I'd be very happy to share more details with you - just pm me.

[liverbird in london]

Cosmos99's post could have been written by me. It completely reflects my experience. Our four-month old son had a severely flat head. It was very noticeable and it was also asymmetric, as if someone had sliced off one corner of his head. Like Cosmos99's little one, ours slept very well - ours was one of those babies that slept 10 - 12 hours from three weeks old. We tried "tummy time", a special heart-shaped pillow, but his head remained very flat. His forehead was also slightly bulging out, and it was definitely noticeable because people remarked on his flat head.

We looked on the internet and took our son to LOC in Kingston. He was fitted with a helmet at around 4 months, and 3 months later at seven months old, his head was unrecognisable, it was a "normal" shaped head. The before and after head scans were remarkable. He is now a healthy and bright five and a half year old and you would never know to look at him that his head had been so misshapen. Yes, it is expensive but for us it was worth every penny.

As a footnote, for anyone reading this and thinking, I bet it would have corrected itself over time. The story didn't end there. I then had a daughter (20 months younger than her brother) and yes, she too had a flat head. We thought maybe we were just being hyper-sensitive and were very reluctant to go down the helmet route again. We had her head measured at four months, and it was severe (as opposed to very severe). We then waited three months to see if it would improve by itself, but it seemed to be getting worse. This was confirmed when we had it measured again at seven months - it had indeed become considerably flatter. So, we went down the helmet route again with LOC and she too now has a perfectly normal looking head. Although because she was that much older, the correction time was nine months (unlike my son's three-month treatment). I should add I thought the service LOC provided was brilliant. There's certainly no hard-sell, and they turn parents away if the measurements show the flat head is within a normal range. Happy for anyone to PM me if they have any questions.