Are there a LOT of babies with flat heads?

[A4Disney]

I am not asking this question to be mean spirited and I fully understand the "back to sleep" thing which came into being long after my DSs no longer needed a crib. But....I have seen a few babies lately. Most recently a grandson of a friend of mine. This baby is now 4 months old and when he was born he had a lovely, perfectly round head. The back of his head is so flat that it has changed the shape of his forehead. I have noticed this on many toddlers as well and have seen a few babies in helmets, something I had never seen when my kids were little. Of course the benefit is fewer SIDS which is well worth it, but am I the only one noticing this?

The back to sleep started has in 1992 when my oldest was born.I've had 4 children with perfectly round heads at birth and they all stayed that way.If the baby is moved from a carseat/swing/bouncer seat/crib all day and not held enough this can happen.

 

[HappyMommy2]

Some info on "back to sleep"-

http://www.nichd.nih.gov/sids/reduce_infant_risk.htm

Note the part about "won't my baby choke?"

My MIL was incredibly concerned about my babies choking on their spitup (and they did spit up a lot!) if they slept on their backs. I gave her all the pamphlets I got from my doctor that talked about the importance of babies sleeping on their backs, and how there is no evidence that babies sleeping on their backs are more likely to choke to death. I don't think it convinced her, but I still insisted that she put my babies down on their backs to sleep when she was caring for them.
Really, though, how often have you heard of a baby actually dying because of choking to death in his/her sleep? OTOH I know several people personally whose babies died of SIDS before "back to sleep" (and cutting out puffy crib quilts and pillows and secondhand smoke) came into prominence. My babies did gag a little on their spitup sometimes in their sleep but they would always (still aleep) turn their head to the side and cough it up. I think the notion that a baby would actually DIE from this is pretty much an old wives' tale.

 

[kristen821]

I personally think doctors will change it back and forth and there is no right way of doing it.

 

[Beth76]

I've known lots of babies (worked with infants for 3 years) and I've only known one who had a flat spot that required a helmet to fix. So, I don't really think it's that common. My first son was born with a flat spot because he was vaccummed out, but it "rounded" itself out after a few months.

 

[Aidensmom]

I have heard some people say it is lack of tummy time during the day...in our particular case, DS had plenty of tummy time - it is what he preferred, but when he fell asleep on his back, his face always rolled the same way. We would try to roll it the other way, but it would always go back. We even tried rolling up a blanket to hold his head to the other side, but it would make him so angry!!! Since he was our first, the whole thing worried us. It went away so quickly though. Can I blame his awful cowlick in the back of his head on that, too???

Do we have the same kid? Mine did the same thing, and has the same cowlick!

His head is no longer flat on one side, if putting him on his back decreased the chances of SIDS and the only price to pay was a temporarily misshaped head, I see that as a good deal.

 

[Aidensmom]

Geez, should have read a few more posts before I answered to see that this has already turned into another bad parent thread.

I don't think "never holding the child" has a darn thing to do with it. My son was very clingy and held quite a bit, some days was only put down because I had to use the bathroom. So much for the "superior parent" attitude.

 

[tiggersmom2]

Geez, should have read a few more posts before I answered to see that this has already turned into another bad parent thread.

I don't think "never holding the child" has a darn thing to do with it. My son was very clingy and held quite a bit, some days was only put down because I had to use the bathroom. So much for the "superior parent" attitude.

Isn't that the truth! I held my son plenty also and GUESS WHAT?! When I put him on his back to sleep....he DID develop a flat head. I was very diligent with moving him about after that...but hotdamn...I guess I was a bad parent before that.

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

Now that I think of it, I asked our pedi how to avoid 'flat head' with DS. He said to rotate him like a rotisserie. Seriously. When we picked him up, we tried to remember which side he'd been laying on (or if he'd been laying on his back) and then when we put him down for a nap, we'd put him on the opposite side.

His head is fairly roundish..not perfect but much better than that conehead I gave birth to.

Lisa--some 'superior' parents told me that if you ever put your child down during like the first 3 mos or so after birth, you risked having them be not bonded to you. Add into the fact that I had to formula feed and I'm SURELY going to Hell. Where is my handbasket?

TOV

 

[Aidensmom]

His head is fairly roundish..not perfect but much better than that conehead I gave birth to.

Mine was a conehead, then a flathead!

Amazing he is not in therapy.

We did positioning too when the flathead developed, the doctor suggested at that point to always get him to lay on the opposite side of his head. We had this foam wedge thing made specifically for that purpose, which you would put in the crib and lay him on so that he was actually kind of laying on his side.

 

[jodifla]

OOhhhh a question that can start me on a rant! I think many babies have flat heads because they are never held! My heart breaks when i see babies practically living in their little plastic cages! My DH and i both get sad watching parents sit through an hour long dinner with their baby pacified with little foot nudges to the carrier to keep them from protesting. And i am talking big parties where there are many adults who could take turns holding the child.
I could go on and on (after all this is a rant). Needless to say i think babies can sleep on their backs if during waking hours they are in close contact with something other than a plastic body pacifier.

Oh, you've got to be kidding!

 

[phillybeth]

OOhhhh a question that can start me on a rant! I think many babies have flat heads because they are never held! My heart breaks when i see babies practically living in their little plastic cages! My DH and i both get sad watching parents sit through an hour long dinner with their baby pacified with little foot nudges to the carrier to keep them from protesting. And i am talking big parties where there are many adults who could take turns holding the child.
I could go on and on (after all this is a rant). Needless to say i think babies can sleep on their backs if during waking hours they are in close contact with something other than a plastic body pacifier.

maybe that baby is in the carrier for a reason. My nephew had severe reflux as an infant and had to be kept upright for at least an hour after every feeding. Holding him did not give enought support and the poor baby would SCREAM from the pain.
Either way, what's an hour in a carrier? How do you know that those parents have not held the baby all day and are having a break while he/she naps?

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

Aidensmom--we had those wedge things too. There were two wedges with a flappy bit in the middle that could be adjusted via velcro for the size of the child. DFIL called them DS's 'chocks' (like those things you put under a car to keep it from rolling).

The wedges were covered in cutesy fabric and also came with a baby-sized electric blanket in the same cutesy fabric. The blanket kinda freaked us out though, so we never used it.

I think DS started life as a conehead cuz the OB had to grab the saladtongs and assist him outta there.

TOV

 

[jodifla]

DS loved sleeping on his stomach. I would start him there most evenings as a newborn, then flip him when he was sound asleep.

He made it his life's mission to get on his stomach to sleep. I think he turned himself the first time at about eight weeks, and was sleeping nightly on his stomach by four months.

 

[graygables]

My 3rd DD was born in 1996, sunny side up. Because of the severe facial bruising, along with all the other stuff that she went through, I was told to put her on her stomach. She was also colicky and had very bad stomach problems until she was 7yo, so pressure on the stomach was a good thing for her. Our ped also believed choking on vomit was more of a concern as long as we used a firm mattress, tightly fitted sheets and no fluff in the bed. 4th DD was born in '98 and she was also a tummy sleeper. Both my niece and nephew were forced to sleep on their backs (what little sleep they got) and had flat heads. My niece even was bald in the back of her head for a long time because of it. SIDs is tragic, but I agree that it's not all in the sleeping position.

 

[Aidensmom]

Aidensmom--we had those wedge things too. There were two wedges with a flappy bit in the middle that could be adjusted via velcro for the size of the child. DFIL called them DS's 'chocks' (like those things you put under a car to keep it from rolling).

The wedges were covered in cutesy fabric and also came with a baby-sized electric blanket in the same cutesy fabric. The blanket kinda freaked us out though, so we never used it.

I think DS started life as a conehead cuz the OB had to grab the saladtongs and assist him outta there.

TOV

Aiden was in this big hurry to get out up until the time the doctor decided to let him too. Then the saladtongs had to be pulled out! And can I tell you, that little boy is still as stubborn today!

 

[scubamouse]

OOhhhh a question that can start me on a rant! I think many babies have flat heads because they are never held! My heart breaks when i see babies practically living in their little plastic cages! My DH and i both get sad watching parents sit through an hour long dinner with their baby pacified with little foot nudges to the carrier to keep them from protesting. And i am talking big parties where there are many adults who could take turns holding the child.
I could go on and on (after all this is a rant). Needless to say i think babies can sleep on their backs if during waking hours they are in close contact with something other than a plastic body pacifier.

What an ignorant and insulting post! Judgmental much?

My DD has a VERY flat head. It was really really obvious until she started to get hair and now at 3.5 you can't notice it. But it's still flat.

Her head was and is off the charts large. Large enough to have the doctors double check the size at every appt.

But guess what - if you actually took a look at those parents you're judging you might see that, as in our family, one of the parents has a large flat head. My DH and my FIL have huge flat heads. And my FIL was a Rhodes Scholar and DH is Ivy league educated. DD came by it honestly not out of a lack of attention or being kept in a cage.

Oh and my son spent a year in an orphanage before we adopted him and his head is quite round and i can assure you it's not from all the nurturing he got there!

 

[cwnhokie]

First let me say don't take the flat head thing too lightly. If it is severe it can lead to developmental problems, so do keep an eye on it. It seems most will resolve on their own, but some don't.

Second, DH and I took the Back to Sleep program to the extreme. We were typical first time crazy parents. DH had a really bad startle reflex and would shake and twitch and wake himself up constantly. He swirmed all around the cradle and tried to roll over the first night home. Then he developed reflux and slept in the carseat with also kept him a little more confined and helped with the startling. He rolled over at 4 months and we were so concerned about it. DH insisted that we turn him over when ever he did it. Since I was the one that would hear him roll over in the night, super mom ears, that was my job. I called the back to sleep hotline at the NIH and they told me to let him sleep. They said turning him back over was disrupting his sleep and mine, if he was strong enough to roll over by himself he was probably ok. She said this will be the first of many time that you will find that he will never be totally 100% safe, so don't drive yourself crazy worrying. Neither of mine started sleeping through the night until they could sleep on their tummys. I decided if i have another I will by a heart monitor to put on the mattress, put them on their tummys, and get some rest.

 

[disneymom3]

Either way, what's an hour in a carrier? How do you know that those parents have not held the baby all day and are having a break while he/she naps?

AMEN, sister!! The only time I did NOT hold DD was when we went out to eat. She was the fussiest baby, but for some reason loved loud restaurants and would be ever so calm and happy in her carseat whenever we went out to eat.

As an addtional note, she was also my only fussy baby and my worst sleeper and we did the whole back to sleep thing with her. My mom tried and tried to convince me to turn her over but I wouldn't do it. By the time first DS was about 3 weeks old, she had me convinced and the day second DS came home from the hospital he went on his tummy. I did quite a bit of research and what I found convinced me that for a bigger baby who is in a nonsmoking home and all the other risk factor were gone, it was not any more of a risk than anything else. To each their own, but tummy sleeping saved my sanity with DS #1 as it made such a difference.

 

[mickeyfan2]

I am not asking this question to be mean spirited and I fully understand the "back to sleep" thing which came into being long after my DSs no longer needed a crib. But....I have seen a few babies lately. Most recently a grandson of a friend of mine. This baby is now 4 months old and when he was born he had a lovely, perfectly round head. The back of his head is so flat that it has changed the shape of his forehead. I have noticed this on many toddlers as well and have seen a few babies in helmets, something I had never seen when my kids were little. Of course the benefit is fewer SIDS which is well worth it, but am I the only one noticing this?

Yes this is now common. And it is a direct result of back sleeping. Most Drs. not recommend switching from left side to back to right side to prevent this. My niece wore a helmet and it mad a huge impovement. The Dr. said about 1/3 of all american babies now have flat heads. The helmet will not only fix the flat spot but will round out the forhead. Each helmet is custom made to the kids head and as the head grows the inside foam is removed to continue the shaping as the head grows.

ETA She is not an unloved kid. She is adopted from Korea and they sleep on hardfloors, she took her bottle on the floor and played on her back. The foster mom carried her everywhere. Flat heads are very common in Korea, so nobody worried about it. The Dr. said the helmet was only needed for cosmetic reasons, but some kids do need it for medical reasons. They paid for the helmet to help round out the flat spot. The helmet is very light and she did not mind it on. She no longer uses it. She is a happy, healthy and loved kid who still has a slightly flat head.

 

[kristen821]

Yes this is now common. And it is a direct result of back sleeping. Most Drs. not recommend switching from left side to back to right side to prevent this. My niece wore a helmet and it mad a huge impovement. The Dr. said about 1/3 of all american babies now have flat heads. The helmet will not only fix the flat spot but will round out the forhead. Each helmet is custom made to the kids head and as the head grows the inside foam is removed to continue the shaping as the head grows.

Out of curiosity how long will she have to wear the helmet? Does she wear during all waking hours?