plagiocepahly

When Ariel was about 3 months old, we noticed that the back of his head was flattening. He was a very heavy baby so we decided to alternate his sleeping position. When we noticed that no changes had occurred, we decided to take him to the Pediatrician. Unfortunately, the pediatrician was not much help, so we decided that it was time to take him to a neuro-specialist because the shape was worsening. We took him to the Cleft Palate/Cranio-Facial Center to see a Pediatric Neuro-Surgeon. That is when they diagnosed him with positional molding/plagiocephaly.

Plagiocephaly is a term used to describe the development of an abnormal head shape that might of been a result of force applied to the soft infant skull. The deformity can begin in utero, but is most commonly caused by sleeping in the same position or torticollis (tight neck muscle). Due to this he had to receive helmet therapy so that the shape of his head could improve. We purchased the helmet from a surgical supply company that took a mold of his head with plaster of paris. From that mold is how they created his helmet. The helmet had straps in the back of the head, as well as on his chin. As the helmet loosened we would add gentle pressure by tightening the straps. Ariel had to wear the helmet 23 hours a day, we could remove it for 1 hr. for hygiene. Honestly, if we got him to wear the helmet 12 hours we were lucky! The helmet was designed to sleep with, it had cushions inside, but try explaining that to a 6 month old. We have to admit even though he did not wear the helmet for the full 23 hrs, the helmet made a 33% improvement of his head. He wore it for 10 months.

If you suspect your child's head is flattening or bulging in the back, these are some websites that you can look into. The helmet does work, but it needs to be put on early in the child's life before the sutures close. This is very important because once that happens then it's too late for correction