Flat head

Khannie

Any recommendations on how to prevent flat head in babies? The principle is simple enough, spread the weight of the head out over the head as a whole instead of a small area. The reality is that babies move a lot.

I was looking at the "noggin nest" but can't seem to find anywhere that will ship to Ireland.

Nevyn

Top of the head or back of the head from lying prone ?

Love2love

Considering that all babies must lie on their back when sleeping, i doubt there is anything you can do to prevent it. My son has this and the doctor has assured me that it will go away on its own as the skull bones are not set yet. In severe cases, physio is required but if you let the doc or the PHN have a look, they can confirm if this is the case. My son has began to roll onto his side while sleeping so its starting to look 'normal' again. My doc told me that all those helmets and such are a waste of money as it does go fairly quick.

crosstownk

A small baby having the back of his/her head flat (and probably bald too) is normal. My eldest had it but her head shape returned to normal once she was able to sit up. Currently my youngest (12 weeks) has it and he's also got the bald patch too! Nothing to worry about, imo.

Deliverance

Khannie wrote:

Any recommendations on how to prevent flat head in babies? The principle is simple enough, spread the weight of the head out over the head as a whole instead of a small area. The reality is that babies move a lot.

I was looking at the "noggin nest" but can't seem to find anywhere that will ship to Ireland.

As far as I can remember the prenatal nurse fielded this question to a pre parent and told them diplomatically that it was not really something to be worried about, certainly didn't worry me, babies have been delivered forever and it is only an issue which has been brought recently out of understandable parent worry.

I was one of those parents who slept next to the cot waking every 5 mins to make sure she was still breathing. It amazes me how such a small baby can get into so many different positions in one night! I actually worried about that too!

So from my experience I would say that it is not something with which you should concern yourself about.
The nest noggin? If I had heard about it I probably would have got it, I didn't and my little girl has a perfectly round 'noggin'. And she is happy too.
Hope that helps.

Khannie

Thanks for all the replies. Comforting.

Thaedydal wrote:

Top of the head or back of the head from lying prone ?

Back of the head from sleeping. As others have said...she has that little bald patch too. It's not too bad, but I had heard that if the currently soft bone goes hard then she'll be stuck with it (my mother in law heard a show on Joe Duffy with mothers whose baby's heads did not go round / spherical again). I suppose you always just want what's best. I'm a shockin' worrier.

edit:

Deliverance wrote:

babies have been delivered forever and it is only an issue which has been brought recently out of understandable parent worry.

It's become more of a problem recently because baby is supposed to sleep on his / her back now (advice in the past was to sleep the child on their tummy). When you couple that with car seats, prams, etc. the flat patch is more prominent now than it would have been in the past.

Nevyn

Niether of mine ever slept on thier tummys and I didn't have any specaily crafted or engineered pillows for them.
I was told at the timet o make sure that if theywere sleeping to have them lying flat rather then at an angle in a buggy or pram with a decent foam support under them.
This one of the reasons a pram was prefered to a buggy/stroller for the first 6 months.