Flat head syndrome in babies has become the most common, lay man’s term describing the condition known as Positional Plagiocephaly. From a parent’s perspective it has become accepted as the catch all phrase to define a baby’s head that is not symmetrical, it may be flat or it might be misshaped. In a sense it is misleading because not all the head shapes associated with the condition feature flat heads.
There are three main types of head shape that are associated with Baby Flat Head Syndrome. Plagiocephaly, Brachycephaly and Scaphocephaly.
If you think your baby does have some sort of flat or misshaped head and you are concerned you can quickly and easily get our clinical opinion for free with our Baby Flat Head Syndrome diagnosis form.
If your baby has a mild form of Plagiocephaly, Brachycephaly or Scaphocephaly repositioning should be sufficient to help naturally resolve the issue. If your baby has moderate or severe forms of any of these head shapes helmet therapy with the LOCband is proven to be very effective at normalising head shape.
We have successfully treated babies up to the age of 16 months for positional plagiocephaly.
There have been exceptional cases where a baby’s fontanelles have not fused yet by the age of 18 months, where we have achieved successful, but less-marked, results with cranial remoulding therapy.
Although the ‘Back to Sleep’ campaign has been linked to the increased incidence of positional plagiocephaly, (for more information, see Diagnosis and Management of Positional Head Deformity) it has saved lives by reducing the incidence of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), (more information can be found on The Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths). Therefore, babies should always be placed on their backs to sleep.
If you are concerned that your baby has a Brachycephaly head shape we can provide you with our clinical opinion of your baby’s head shape based on your photographs.
Just fill in our plagiocephaly / flat head diagnosis form below.
