Proper Shape of the Head

Ethnic heritage is also a consideration. Slavics, natives in North and South America and many orientals, tend to have very flat heads. I'm half Slavic, half Spanish. My siblings have perfectly rounded heads but I have quite a flat one, inherited from my father's side of the family.
A previous poster commented on vision problems. I will look into that, since I started using glasses at 6 and have a very high prescription and vision issues (which none of my siblings have). I never knew that there could be a connection there! But then again, my Dad, asides of having a flat head and being borderline genius, didn't need glasses until his 70s.
BTW, they say I'm the smartest of the 4 siblings, flat head or not!

I've never seen an African baby with a flat head. The women carry them on their backs all the time. It is the most comfortable way to carry a baby. You won't have back pain like with a Snugly, the babies don't cry. They will fall asleep there and can easily be laid down for a nap, etc. They do this until the children are 2 or 3 years old. I'm sure you can find directions on youtube or if you know any African mothers who haven't been ruined by North American ways yet, just ask. They are happy to help but sometimes embarrassed and will use strollers in public but the slings in their homes.

Any molding or abnormal head shape caused by the birth resolves itself within a few days of the birth. Most babies who have "flat heads" in the back are because they are left on their backs too long. Think about it...sleeping, in the carseat, stroller, swing, which is pretty much where most babies spend a good part of their days. I would recommend getting an infant carrier and wear her in a sling or wrap. Her head should return to normal without being so invasive.

My daughter got a bit of a flat head after birth as well. They did not talk to me about a cask though. However, I would give her lots of tummy time, and would hold her more upright than laying whenever possible, up on my shoulder not cradled. Her head rounded out nicely, and she's been fine. I do not remember how long it took, but I know it didn't take long. Maybe a couple weeks. I know unfortunately you don't have that long, but hopefully you giving her tummy time a lot will help enough that it wont be necessary.

Hello A.,

At the very young age for a baby, flatten of the head can be common in babies who have had help during birth like suction or just even vaginal births. Your baby still has time to grow and she can get better with a little help. She needs plenty of tummy time to strengthen her neck but also, repositioning their heads while sleeping helps as well. I do commend your pediatrician for being educated in this because it is usually missed during routine checkups. I don't know what grounds your pediatrician is making his/her diagnosis because it could just be a slight flattening or he may see that it has the potential to be sever; I could never know really without actually seeing for myself. But best way to tell is to lay the baby down on their tummy and look at their head from that angle, especially at the alignment of their ears or you can look to get a free evaluation from an orthotist. If the ears are offset, it’s a sign of positional plagiocephaly. If her head shape doesn't correct itself by the age of 5 or 6 months, then I suggest seeking other means like helmet therapy. In my office, when parents come in with babies that young, we use a Star scanner to detect how many millimeters a baby's head is off and from there our orthotist makes the decision if the baby really does need treatment or if they can use intervention first. If intervention is the choice, we refer them to a pediatric physical therapist to work with the parents first and we check up in a month or two to see if it has improved. If you need more information, please don't hesitate to ask me. Hope that helps!

E. R.
www.starbandkids.com
www.monroeoandp.com

my baby had a flat head too... my dr. told me to make sure when he slept.. that he slept on the side of his head.. not the back!! this will help round the head out.. good luck. and don't go by what your dr. says.. you should see a neurologist if it doesn't improve not just a reg. dr. good luck.. my son was and is fine..

get a second opinion. if that opinion is the same, look into physical therapy. if that doesnt work look into the helmet as a last resort. Good luck hon

hi there. it is way too early for your doctor to determine that your girl needs the helmet. my daughter's head was flat on one side from sleeping on her side for the first 3 months (she had some problem with her neck muscle where her head kept tilting to that one side). we had to work on the neck muscle to tilt her head the other way, and then we made her sleep on the other side and on her back, and her head fixed itself and is perfectly round now. 10 weeks is very young, don't let the doctor tell you your daughter needs a helmet at this age. try to make the baby sleep on the sides, and less on her back, and her head will fix itself on its own (it's still very soft and can be easily shaped). really, before you put the helmet on your child, at least get another opinion. a woman at my church has a baby with a helmet on (the baby is older) and the poor kid looks miserable (although i'm sure it's used to it by now). best of luck. just keep working on shaping the little head and trust your motherly instincts!

It's tough situation because your baby is too young to be sitting up all day playing... so this doesn't just fix itself without a lot of inconveniences.
I had similar scenario, as my infant's head was quite flat from sitting him in the swing so much... at 4 months I banned him from the swing with the nanny.... we pushed lots of tummy time... and turned him sideways more while sleeping. his head was quite heavy compared to other babies, so I think that added to the problem.
My pediatrician agreed and gave me a specialist to call, if I was concerned that our efforts don't improve things.
by 6months, his head greatly improved, so I hadn't called that specialist.
At 9 months, the pediatrician said the flatness was much better, but his head was assymetrical, and pushed me to see the specialist (Dr. Cruz-Zena, Danbury)
The Dr. did his measurements and my son's score was a little better than the threshold for intervention. He actually sent me home to continue with our efforts to keep him off his head. Now that is easy because my son's about to crawl and sits up all day.

I went home happy, and no helmet.
I suggest the Dr. consultation.... a specialist is the expert after all, and I think my scenario proves that this Dr. is honest.

When I used to work for a physical therapist, we saw this often. You can look into getting physical therapy by a specialist. The shape of their head is not only for aesthetics, but can also cause improper draining of fluids which can cause recurring ear infections. If the MD is mentioning it, you should probably look into this as an option either in place of or in addition to a cask.

It is quite easy to fix when they are this young and takes a short amount of time. If you wait until she is older (one year or more), then she would definitely have to wear a very hard helmet all the time to correct the problem. When both of my sons were born, I was very concerned about the shape of thier heads and wanted to opt to have their heads shaped rather than wait at all.

Is she too young for physical therapy? I would ask your doctor about that. If he doesn't recommend physical therapy find out why. At my daughter's 3-month wellness checkup my pediatrician pointed out her flat head and torticollis (she couldn't turn her head fully to the left). Physical therapy was wonderful. I learned how to hold her and play with her with the exercises the physical therapist showed me how to do. It's important to have a nicely shaped head, it's not vain. It can effect balance and vision as well and think about all the safety helmets the kids wear biking riding, etc. You want her head to fit those as she grows. The great thing is that you caught the problem early and it is fixable.