Baby With Flathead?

Question

My son is a month old and he had his first doctor's appt. a week ago. His doctor said that the back right side of his head was flatter than the other side. I knew this but I didn't really think too much of it. He just was sleeping on that side of his head a lot. The doctor told me to try to correct it and help it fill out I needed to place stuffed animals and objects for him to look at on the left side of his head so he would stay off the right side. She also told me to turn his head to the left and hold it there for about ten seconds a few times a day to make that muscle work more and become stronger. I've been doing all the stuff she's said but even after I do all that stuff, whenever I come back to get him after a nap, he'll be turned back the other way on the side of his head that is flat. I've even tried wedging a rolled up receiving blanket and placing it behind the flat side of his head. This hasn't been working too well. He still manages to turn back. Should I be worried?

Answer 1

It is called Torticollis. My baby has it. PLEASE do everything you can to get him to lay in various positions! We ended up having to take our baby to a physical therapist. Between therapy, moving his crib in front of a window, wedges (when he didn't fight his way out of them), toys that light up..... Thankfully his got better! If it had not gotten better he would have had to wear a helmet to correct it! The helmets are worn 23 1/2 hrs a day.
Please do whatever it takes.
Good Luck!!

Answer 2

It is common now that babies are put on their backs to sleep, however I would do whatever you can to get him to stay off that side of his head. My son had the same problem, only I didnt think much of it until he was like 2 1/2 months old. I had to take him to the Children's Hospital 1 1/2 hours away so he could see a specialist. They told me that I had to buy a wedge to keep him off the flat side of his head and see if it helped, and when I came back in a month and it wasn't better then he would have to wear a special helmet 23 hours a day, only giving him 1 hour without it so he could bathe and he would have to wear it for 3-6+ months.

Luckily I got him off that side of his head and he didn't have to wear the helmet (it was right before summer too, imagine wearing a helmet in the summer!).

If you get a wedge and push it up under his right side then he will be basically turning up hill to turn to the right while sleeping and after a while he will give up. My second son started having the same problem, but I noticed right away and stopped him from doing it.

Good Luck!

Answer 3

I had the same problem with my daughter. One side of her head became flat. I didn't worry to much about it at night because I wanted her to sleep on her back. I did turn her head when she was sleeping everytime it was on the flat side. In the carseat and stroller, I would roll up a receiving blanket and prop it under her head to keep it off the flat side. All my efforts paid off, and her head is totally normal now. Just keep experimenting with different things until you find what works. It's almost a 24 hour job until they start sitting. Keep it up though, is serious cases it can cause one ear, eye and cheek to push out further than the other side and the child may need a special helmet to reform their head.

There is also a condition called Torticallus where one muscle is shortened in one side of the neck. This is what my baby had, and she had physiotherapy for 5 months. She would favor tilting her head to the left side, and if I tried to turn it the other way, there was resistance and she would cry.

The physio didn't do any good though. I took her up for prayer one day at church and we prayed over her. Her head got sooo hot, you could feel the heat coming off of it. She then broke out in little beads of sweat and her head could turn in all directions. It was the first time I had witnessed a true miracle of God. It was amazing. All the praise and glory to Him.

Answer 4

I think the person you should ask about how concerned you should be is the pediatrician first. From what you said, though, it doesn't sound like the pediatrician is that concerned. Your baby's skull bones are still pretty maleable, and I imagine that in time they will round up nicely. Certainly once he's better able to move around on his own. If you really feel like you want to prevent him from rolling his head to the flat side, try taping half of a worn out tennis ball to the correct side of a small knitted cap. He won't be able to put his head on that side with the cap on, and he's too young to pull it off. Getting him to turn his head will get easier as he gets older and has more strength in his neck- so I would lay him on his stomach and lay in front of him. When you talk to him, he should lift his head to look at you - which will exercise the muscles in his neck. Then just make sure when you hold him, to talk to him from the left side. Babies naturally look toward the voice and face. If you want him to look at you from the left, hold him on your right shoulder and speak to him.
Honestly, though, have you ever really looked at people's heads? Start noticing the folks with bald heads or who have shaved their hair. There are some really strange shaped heads out there, and attached to some very normal healthy people. Hair covered a lot of heads that would probably look just as oddly shaped. If your son ends up with a slightly flat shape to one side of his head- hair will cover it over, and likely nobody will notice. As long as the brain inside is fine, and there are no other medical problems to be concerned with- I wouldn't worry about the shape being perfect. With luck, he'll grow a fine head of hair, and the shape won't be an issue until he's middle aged, married, and wearing baseball caps anyway. By then he'll be married, and his wife will love him just the way he is.

Answer 5

I wouldn't be too worried about that. I've heard from many mothers (including my own) that babies heads eventually get to be a normal shape after a while. My son does the same thing. He loves looking to the right, and will not change his mind for anything.

Answer 6

Try turning your son around, placing him in the bed the other direction. i.e. If he is in the bed and always looks left, turn him around so that he is looking right. Or even in the living room, turn your son, not just his head, so then he'll want to turn his head to look at all the interesting things.

Answer 7

I wouldnt be too worried. I would do the things the Dr said but I woudlnt do the blanket while he is sleeping. In another month or so the baby will probably have lots of tummy time and that problem will probably correct itself.

Answer 8

Not at this stage, just keep encouraging the turning. If he doesn't start responding to the turning left thing soon, there are ways to fix the flatness. (Called "Plagiocephaly" in doctor-speak) Try approaching him from the left side, talking to him all the way, so he'll turn and look at you too.

Good luck!!!

Answer 9

This happened to my baby when he was little. I figured out that he liked to sleep facing a certain direction because I was laying next to his bassinett on his preferred side. I simply started laying him with his head facing the opposite of his usual sleeping position. (So, before his his was toward the head of my bed, and then I layed him with his head toward the foot of my bed.) This caused him to lay on the opposite side in order to face me. After a couple of weeks of the same position, I made sure to alter positions every night! It worked for us and his head is NOT flat! Good luck!

Answer 10

Nah, I wouldn't worry too much. At a month old he is still pretty malleable so I would just let him be.