Flat Head - - Helmet Therapy

Mama Bear

Sun, Feb 19 2006, 10:14 pm

Due to sleeping on his back, my son has developed a flat and slightly asymmetrical head. One pediatriican recommended I have him fited for a helmet, and my2 other pedis say it's not necessary. I REALLY REALLY dont want to do it - it's very expensive and very uncomforatable. have any of you gone through this with your own children?

Here are 3 pics of his head, is it really THAT bad???

Has anyone had a child with a flat head which reversed itself?
has anyone had to use helmet therapy with their child?

red sea

Sun, Feb 19 2006, 10:30 pm

My kids all got like that from all the back to sleep rules, it straightens itself out, just make sure that when he is awake he spends plenty if not all his time off his back, it will also give the baby the opportunity to practice lifting up, moving around (as in pre-crawling) etc.

red sea

Sun, Feb 19 2006, 10:48 pm

My son who got the flat head really kind of bad also had a terrible time when we put him on his stomach, he couldn't lift up well, and he just would cry the whole time, when he finally got used to it though he finally built up upper body strength and slowly figured out how to do stuff, I seriously think his whole problem was the getting used to being on his back too much, but anyways, I hope the therapy goes well for your baby, and really don't worry, his head will work its shape back out.

chavamom

Sun, Feb 19 2006, 10:51 pm

Have you seen those pillows that are like small Boppy nursing pillows? They are made by the same company. You put it under the baby's chest when s/he is on teh floor and it really seems to help those who hate tummy time get used to it and develop their muscle strength.

realeez

Sun, Feb 19 2006, 11:05 pm

I don't know much about it but someone was telling me she got this special memory foam pad to put under the baby's sheet and it molds to the shape of the baby's head and lessens flat head. I'm not sure if it does much once the child has flat head already - I think it may be to prevent it in the first place.
I figured I would pass on the info and you can do with it what you'd like!

happyone

Mon, Feb 20 2006, 12:09 am

They usually recommend the helmet for flat head that are due to torticollis- that's when tight neck muscles cause the head to shift to the side, making it uncomfortable and easier for the baby to sleep in a certain position, which results in a flat one side of the head.
In general, under normal conditions, where the head flattens simply due to the baby's sleep position, the head will straighten out - just make sure to alternate sleep positions. Have you ever seen a healthy adult with a misshaped head? Exclamation

The helmet is also VERY uncomfortable for the child. My friend used it until she realized that quality of life is worth more than the perfect shaped haad.
Your son is gorgeous regardless!!!

amother

Mon, Feb 20 2006, 2:13 am

Ok, I'm going to disagree with everyone. B'h you're baby is gorgeous and b'h the postional plagiocephaly (medical name for flat head) does not look severe. However, it may round out and it may not.

My ds had torticollis and developed positional plagiocephaly as a baby. My drs all said 'it'll round out'. He is now 17 months, whilst he is b'h a beautiful child his head did not round out. There is a yahoo group for parents of older kids with pp. Kids of 5, 7,10 and older whose head DID NOT round out.

Where I am they do not offer helmet therapy. If they did, I would have (still would) go for it. For me, I am scared that one day my kid will come home crying that other kids made fun of him because of his head shape.

Your baby is still young, and he may benefit from aggressive repositioning. There is also Personally I would recommend that you give it a couple of months of agressive repostioning and then re-evaluate and decide if you want to go for the helmet. What if it doesn't round out, will you and he, be happy with his head the way it is now?

Btw, helmet is NOT uncomfortable, and a baby that young won't notice it. It's usually the parents that have the most trouble adjusting to it. Won't your insurance cover it?

I suggest you join the yahoo group for postional plagiocephaly.

If anyone wants to talk to me more about it, you can write here and I will pm you.

Mama Bear

Mon, Feb 20 2006, 5:15 am

I really dont have a problem cosmtetically with the shape. IYH he will wear a yarmulke big enough to cover it. Hopefully once he stops being on his back so much, I.e. he has the neckstrength to do more tummy time and he can sit and crawl, it'll fix itself- meantime I have the catch 22 situation that he is on his back of his head so much because he cant do any of the above.

I joined a yahoogroup for plagiocephaly and the MOST common post is how difficult the babies ahve adjusting to it and how they can't sleep.

It's not covered by insurance; I spent so mjuch money on infertility treament I just don't have where to turn to for the $3000 this costs.

A friend of mine had the helmet for her son and he hated it so much, esp. now it'll be summer and it's so sweaty, that she kept taking it off so it didnt do much for him. She told me it's not worth the trouble.

Wht's agressive repositioning? I tried for a month to put him to sleep on he other side where the flat spot is, and when I hold him or put him in the bath I also make him face the other side. But it hasnt improved very much.

I'm glad the 2 pediatricians I respect more think it's not something to worry about; the only pediatiricna who did worry is the new, young one, fresh out of medical school, who is a bit of a an alarmist.

Thanks for the comment though. I'll definitely reevaluate him in six months, let's say - I dont want to subejct him to the confining helmet in the heat of thte summer.

Mama Bear

Mon, Feb 20 2006, 5:16 am

amother wrote:

OH PLEASE
My kid's head looked much worse than that. I can barely see it on yours in comparison

It straightened itself out and is JUST FINE NOW!!!!

do yourself a favour and ignore that nut of a doctor.

you have a cute baby btw Very Happy

thanks a lot Smile

happyone wrote:

The helmet is also VERY uncomfortable for the child. My friend used it until she realized that quality of life is worth more than the perfect shaped haad.
Your son is gorgeous regardless!!!

I know. See my above post... my frirend told me it wasnt wroth the trouble... I just want to make sure I'm not depriving mys on socially because of his odd shape.

BrachaVHatzlocha

Mon, Feb 20 2006, 11:22 am

I wonder if I should try that pillow with my 2 month old who also hates tummy time. My sister said the other day that he has a flat head and I got nervous. and my husband said - so does he! and I looked and it's true, it's slightly flat and you wouldn't notice it.... but I'm still a nervous mommy! Smile

chocolate moose

Mon, Feb 20 2006, 1:37 pm

People are so religious about a baby only sleeping on his stomach, but my son cried SO much on his stomach, course but he cried so much all the time anyway...don't ask. He's 18 and still difficult!

I doubt your son, Mindy, will suffer from a misshapen head. He'll tilt his hat back, lol!

Mama Bear

Mon, Feb 20 2006, 2:45 pm

well today all doctors say to put kids on the back or side to reduce the SIDs risk, and since he's a preemie I had a double warning to put him on his side. as for tummy time bracha, it's VERY important, otherwise these babies are delayed in crawling and playing on the floor on their tummies. Do it only 5 minutes a day for now, it's enough.

amother

Mon, Feb 20 2006, 5:00 pm

Quote:

He is now 17 months, whilst he is b'h a beautiful child his head did not round out

amother, I'm the other amother that said "Oh please..."

my kid's head didn't round out till closer to 3!
even now my child is close to 5 and it still isn't perfect but no one knows except ME!!!!!! I'm the only one that can see it at this stage and only when I look for it

amother

Mon, Feb 20 2006, 5:05 pm

me again

mindy:

Quote:

It's not covered by insurance; I spent so mjuch money on infertility treament I just don't have where to turn to for the $3000 this costs.

after all that stress you really don't need an extra unneccesary stress on your plate.
let it go, its not worth it. Don't even go join a group because then you are making it into an "issue" and its totally NOT one.

just by the way, my kid didn't just have a flat head but the whole head was skewed to one side. Looking front on you could see the back sneaking to the side

Good looking kid now, socially doing very well B"H

imanut

Mon, Feb 20 2006, 5:19 pm

just remember, premature babies often have a slightly misshapen head anyway, and this doesn't go away.
also, if you do 5 minutes of tummy time several times a day it should be enough, and eventually he will be able to go longer and longer.
you have a beautiful baby ka"h; it's hard to see any problem from the pictures.