3 Month Old Has a Flat Spot on the Back of Her Head

Yes- find a craniopath trained by Dr. Major DeJarnette and get it fixed while her head is still soft.
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My first son had the same thing. The pediatrician's advice was to use the wedge and rolled-up towels to re-position his head when he slept to round it out and keep him from always laying in the same position. It worked great and after a month or two his head was fine.

Hi there. This happens when a baby spends too much time lying in one position (i.e. in an infant seat). I think the back to sleep recommendations actually exacerbate this, not to say you should not put your baby on her back to sleep. The research says you should.

I would limit her time lying on her back or sitting in infant seats while she is awake. Try doing more tummy time and wearing her in a sling or baby carrier when she is awake.

In many cases it's not a big problem, but I have heard of babies who had to wear special helmets to correct this, so you don't want to ignore it!

Get your child off its back!! This leads to huge developmental delays. Your baby should, by this age, be making an independant sleep position decision. Hopefully your baby is starting to roll over. The only true way to build a core for life is tummy time. During the day your child should be on tummy most of the day. Throw away seats, walkers, jumpers or any gadgets that put him in another position besides prone. Your baby has to get strength to eventually crawl or there will be big problems later on in school and life. Have your baby checked for Torticollis by a physical therapist, not your pediatrician. If there is a slight or more pronouced shortening of one of the muscles that goes down the side of the neck, delays will follow. You may not be able to see them now but it will catch up later. TUMMY TIME for hours everyday!

A friend of ours had a baby with a really flat head. I don't remember exactly what the diagnosis was, but I know that the pediatrician referred them to a specialist, and the baby a snugli works great for this, because you can hold the baby and spend time and still get things done with your hands etc. Spend more time on his tummy, and in a swing or something - where there was no support on the back of his head. They said that if it didn't start to improve, they were going to mold a helmet for him that he would have to wear all the time. I think that they massaged it in a circular motion too. It did correct itself, and they did not have to get a helmet for him - but he spent as little time as possible lying on his back or in a car seat etc.
Good luck!

My son had it from sleeping on his back & the dr told me to keep him on his tummy during the day as much as possible. He HATED tummy time, but it did help! He still has a bit of a flat spot on the back of his head (he's 20 mos), but the dr is not concerned about it. At the 6 mo check up your dr can tell you if it's a severe enough flat spot that your baby may need therapy, but I wouldn't worry until then. And in the mean time...tummy time, tummy time, tummy time!

Hi N.,
A flat head can be a result of how he was positioned in the birth canal and your delivery.(you should consult your doctor) However, more times than not it is from your baby laying on his back too much. I have 2 children 17 months apart and I know how difficult 2 little ones are and sometimes it is easier to lay the little one down or in a swing while you tend to the older one or yourself. Start putting your little one on his belly for tummy time. when you have to do something. if he cries try and amuse him or distract him while he's still on his belly. This will help him develop arm and neck strength that develops his spine and crawling ability. Once he i off his back for a little while you should start to see his head round out. Good luck!

How many hours a day does your baby spend lying on his back. sit him up (get a Bumbo) and get him off the back of his head. If he isnt spending time on his back, see a doctor immediately.

Flat heads are caused by too much time on the baby's back, either laying down, in a car seat, sitting in the swing, or in the bounser. Somethimes moms even prop up a bottle in gounces to feed which is dangerous to the baby and that is even more time with pressure on the back of the head. The baby's head is still molding and if it is always on his back with pressure on the back of the head it will get flat. In severe cases I have seen pediatrician have to order speacial helmets because it may cause abnormal brain growth. The trick is to give the back lots of tummy time. I would suggest tummy time several times a day, either a blanket on the floor or in a playpen. I know it is tough with a 14 month old around. My first two were 20 months apart and I was always concerned about the older hurting the baby. I would have your ped look at the baby's head at his 4 month check up and let him give you some suggestions. But it will help to give the baby move tummy time, which will also help him or her develop the upper body strength.

My sons both got flat spots on their heads by about 2 months of age or so from sleeping on their backs. They both had lots of tummy time during the day. Here's the pediatrician's advice, especially for my second son whose flat spot was off-center:
1. Do tummy time at least 5 times a day for as long as the baby will tolerate it, ~10 minutes minimum. If the baby puts his or her head down during tummy time, the flat spot side should be the one pointing down, I guess so that gravity can push brains into the flattened area.
2. Change the baby's orientation during diaper changes so that he has his head tilted in the opposite direction as the side getting the flat spot.
3. Position the baby to sleep with rolled up towels so that he or she is turned away from making the flat spot flatter. (My sons are active enough sleepers that the positioning had little effect on their position while sleeping.)

Because my sons both had good head control and were able to roll over front to back, I put them to sleep on their stomachs to avoid the flat spot getting worse. This increases SIDS risk. However, my babies don't have much hair until well after being 12 months old and 2 months, the flat spot was getting bad enough that you could see the unshapeliness of his head looking at his face.

I dont know if this helped my kids or not but when they were young like this every time I fed them or just held them I rubbed their heads in a circular motion & believe it or not both my kids have perfectly rounds heads now & it seemed to sooth them at times when they were fussy.

Hi! Your child has plagiocephaly and may have torticollis! It sounds like a lot but don't be alarmed. I noticed a flat spot on my daughter's head at 3 months also. I took her to the doctor and she was referred to Physical Therapy for an evaluation to see if she had torticollis (tightening of the neck). If your baby has torticollis they are going to favor one side and therefore always lay on the same side of their head. Most torticollis babies hate tummy time more than the rest of babies and therefore it's even more important for them! My doctor also referred me to a plastic surgeon for an evaluation for a "helmet". They are called DocBands or StarBands, but you have probably seen a few kids with helmets! The helmet just creates a shape for your child's head to grow into. The child wears the helmet 23 hours a day and it really does work. No one as a perfect head, but my daughter's is near perfect.
Beware that not all insurance companies cover the helmet. I had to use Miami Children's Hospital for my daughter's helmet because that is who my insurance covered.
I'm not sure if I left anything out, but if you have any questions just shoot me an email!
J.

Find a cranial-sacral practitioner. It is much more gentle and less invasive than a helmet would be.

Unless it is a true medical condition like mentioned in the other posts ( check with a good pediatrician) then the more you hold your baby or carry with you in a sling or body carrier then the less they will get this flat spot. If babies are left laying on their backs a lot of the day, they will often get a flat spot and rub their hair bald on the back too. Try carrying your little one a lot of the day and give a few 5 min tummy time sessions and it will likely even out! Best wishes!

My niece had a flat spot. Apparently the doctors used to let it go, now they take it seriously because they found it doesn't just completely go away as the child grows. They had her wear a 'helmet' for a few months until her head shape returned to normal. Nothing painful, just a lot of questions. She was also uninsured at the time and the state insurance for children covered it.

This happened to my son too. It just requires more tummy time since babies sleep on their backs. They don't worry about it until about 6 months. My son's was SUPER flat but right around 6 months it started rounding out.

Sometimes that happens because u might have ur baby on it's back alot . Try laying on it's side more.

It will change as they grow. My neice's children were all born with a large odd shaped head. I thought "Oh My Gosh" I do hope they don't stay that way. By the time they are two their heads are normal. The five year old and the two years old are beautiful little girls now. But the doctor should have spoken with you about how to sit them and lay them to help shape their heads. She had to put a blanket on both sides of their heads when they sit in a car seat. Also when she laid them down she had to put them on one side, then the other, then on their backs. Talk to your doctor about it. But rest assured by the time they are two their heads should be normal.

Hi N.,

My son also had a flat spot on the right side of his head. You will need to give your baby lots of tummy time to round his/her head. I would also have your doctor look at it. My son's was bad enough that I had to use blankets to keep him off his right side. My doctor said he has seen some babies heads that are so bad that they have a special helmet that they have to wear to correct it.

Tummy time should do the trick!

Yes, you should have skull xrays done. Both of my children had these flat heads. My oldest had to have a CAT scan after the doctor reviewed the xrays. Thankfully both were fine, still have flat heads (is it genetic?) but hair covers it up. The xrays will show the four plates of the head and determine if any are possibly fused together. It they are, worst case scenario is surgery, but I think this is rare. It's a good idea to check now, so that if any preventative procedures are necessary you can take action now while it's still early. Ask your pediatrician to refer you to the local children's hospital. Sounds scarier then it is, but not something to overlook.

Hi N.,

My son had this too, everyone's posting is correct. I just wanted to give two additional suggestions. "Wear" your baby in an upright carrier like a Bjorn, not a sling, so that the pressure is off her head as much as she will allow. Also, the "Bumbo" is another very good option that gets baby off the back of the head. I am sure that because my pediatrician caught this early and I bought that super expensive piece of plastic called the Bumbo, we avoided the helmet and my son's head is pretty normal round at 3 years of age now. I made a major effort, and used the Bjorn a lot from about 3 months until he was 9 months old. Fortunately, he loved it!!

Another thing my pediatrician told me is that babies will naturally turn their head towards a door when sleeping so if you just flip the baby daily (head one direction one day and feet in that direction the next day) then they will naturally "even out" somewhat. Not sure about that, but I certainly did it!

Good luck - C.

Since baby's head is still very soft, this is probably the way she sleeps most of the time. It will become rounder once she starts moving around more. Then hair will do the rest. Not to worry.