# Babies and head-shaping helmets



## DarkHorseMama (Mar 8, 2003)

I just saw another baby in a helmet today.







Whenever I see one, I can't help but feel a bit judgemental towards the parents for, what I perceive to be, something they likely had control over. Aren't those helmets used because baby has spent too much time lying down on a semi-hard surface?

Has anyone that followed AP'ing had a baby need one?







Are there other reasons to wear one besides flattened heads?


----------



## JoAida (Mar 29, 2003)

I have known two kids that have needed these. One was a friend's foster daughter that spent probably 90% of her first 7 months in a carseat. The other was the son of a girl I know who later found out that her daycare was leaving her son in his carseat all day at the center. I'm sure that there are cases that are not neglect related, but these are the only two I have personal knowledge of.

I have heard that some babies have such large fontanaels (sp?-softspots) that their heads are easily misshapen by normal life. Also some conditions may cause a baby to need one...epilepsy, hydrocephalis, etc


----------



## Periwinkle (Feb 27, 2003)

Wow. That is very judgemental and also dead wrong.

Sometimes the plates of the skull fuse prematurely. This causes the brain to expand the skull in the opposite direction (i.e., the path of least resistance) instead of the baby developing a normally shaped, round head. There's nothing being AP can do to prevent it. There are NUMEROUS other examples of why a child would need to wear a helmet for reasons other than bad parenting







: and if you're interested I'd be happy to PM you. But I think perhaps you should re-evaluate why you are getting annoyed by a child with special needs.


----------



## sweetfeet (Jan 16, 2003)

That is really judgemental. Sophie was slung and in arms 90% of the day as a newborn. When she slept in our bed she was usually on her side. Yet despite the APness she has a mishapen skull. Her ped watched it and the helmet was brought up but fortunately it wasn't needed after all. I really think you just need to raise your babies the best that you can and stop judging and worrying about what others are doing.


----------



## JoAida (Mar 29, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Periwinkle*
Wow. That is very judgemental and also dead wrong.

Sometimes the plates of the skull fuse prematurely. This causes the brain to expand the skull in the opposite direction (i.e., the path of least resistance) instead of the baby developing a normally shaped, round head. There's nothing being AP can do to prevent it. There are NUMEROUS other examples of why a child would need to wear a helmet for reasons other than bad parenting







: and if you're interested I'd be happy to PM you. But I think perhaps you should re-evaluate why you are getting annoyed by a child with special needs.

I think maybe she was asking to learn, not to be judgmental. She was just stating that she found herself being judgmental, which I'm sure all of us have done at one time or another. The only way to learn is to ask, sometimes, and we shouldn't jump on someone for trying to expand their understanding.


----------



## hubris (Mar 8, 2003)

Wow, it had never occurred to me that the parents might be at fault for the child's head development.

I have a friend who has three children. I'm not sure if she would describe herself as AP, but she's certainly not a neglectful parent. Her first son required a helmet. Her second/third children are identical twins - one required the helmet, the other did not. I somehow do not think that she's APing one twin and not the other.


----------



## Irishmommy (Nov 19, 2001)

Moving this to Parenting Issues...


----------



## Gemini (Apr 9, 2003)

My sil's dd *almost* needed a helmet. It's certainly not due to a non AP situation.


----------



## karlin (Apr 8, 2004)

Preemies and multiples are more succesptible to placiocephaly (flattened head) than term infants as well. My DS was born 6 weeks early (though healthy!







) and had slight flattening when he was pretty young. He also had reflux, so he slept in a semi-upright position (swing, car seat, or amby hammock) until he was 6 months old. We did some repositioning (making sure he wasn't on the flat spot), and now you can't even tell there was flattening at all. We carried him everywhere too, it just happened (his skull was softer than a term infant's). A lot of people will choose helmets instead of repositioning though because it's constant work to make sure babe isn't laying on the flat spot. Most kids will outgrow it and self-correct, but many don't want to take the chance so they get a helmet.

Sometimes it's neglect, and sometimes it's circumstance. You can't always tell. The moms with babes in helmets are already feeling awful about it....so please don't give them dirty looks (I used to belong to a inernet group of parents of plagio kids). Have some compassion...I mean the babe is human too, and can see your facial expression.


----------



## USAmma (Nov 29, 2001)

Both of my kids have funny shaped heads. Both are AP babies.

Abi developed a very flat head in the back. I'm not sure why since she spent a lot of time in the sling with full control over her head, not having it rest on anything.

All I can think is for the first 6 mos. of her life she had reflux and I often sat her in the carseat carrier to let her settle for 30 mins. after eating. She slept in it at night sometimes, too, for the same reason. But even after we stopped doing that she had a flat head. I think because parents are told to put their babies to sleep on their backs, we are seeing more flat heads. I dutifully put Abi on her side but she always rolled to the back again, even with the positioner.

She narrowly avoided the helmet. She would have gotten one if the flat back was affecting the shape of the front of her head. Even at age 4, if I am standing over her rinsing shampoo off her head I can see that it's still very flat in the back.

Nitara had torticollis at birth (her neck tendons/muscles were pulling her head to the right) and she always rested her head on that side in the carseat, sling and in bed. She developed a flat spot on that side of her head. It was corrected with exercises by 3 mos. old but at 11 mos. she still has a flat spot. It's not that obvious so no helmet for her.

I ran into a baby at CostCo the other day who was wearing one. She was special needs and I got to talking to the grandma since Nitara is also special needs. That girl had something wrong with her eyelids at birth so she couldn't open them well. She was always tilting her head back to see things better and that's how her head got flat, before the surgery to correct her eyelids.

I used to judge a lot, with many things, until it happened to me.









Darshani


----------



## Nurturing Mama (Nov 11, 2003)

Yes there are many reasons for needing the helmet other than being left alone all day. I met a baby who needed a helmet because he had a shortened neck muscle which changed the shape of his head.


----------



## chiromama (Dec 29, 2003)

Thanks for starting this topic. I just recently heard that a friends baby (about 6 mo's old now) is going to need a helmet.... she was a preemie (about 4 weeks early). I was wondering about how common this was.
Has anyone ever tried CranioSacral therapy for this? It seems like it would be a perfect alternative/adjunctive therapy.
I personally haven't ever seen a baby with a helmet. I have heard of it, but assumed it was something that was no longer done. Thanks for the info!


----------



## muldey (May 8, 2002)

My friend's son had to wear one.He's a triplet,and it had something to do with how he was positioned inside.He wore it for a while,but he's now almost 18 months and you can't even tell.In some instances it can be due to poor parenting,but I'm sure in most it is not.I felt bad for the baby,he used to sweat and get horrible rashes,no matter what they did for him.I think they tried repositioning him,but it was too much with the other babies and their older son,plus it may not have worked.


----------



## Periwinkle (Feb 27, 2003)

JoAida, an unloaded question would be "What are baby helmets for?" as opposed to the much more loaded...

Quote:

Whenever I see one, I can't help but feel a bit judgemental towards the parents for, what I perceive to be, something they likely had control over. Aren't those helmets used because baby has spent too much time lying down on a semi-hard surface?
which is filled with judgement and "mainstream vs. AP" undertones, which is what I and some others have reacted to.

I'm all for learning, but when a question is asked as loaded as that, IMO the judgement itself needs addressing, not just answering the question.

I'm glad everyone else has come forward to put the kabash on the idea that it has something to do with not being AP.


----------



## LunaMom (Aug 8, 2002)

I don't think it's fair to assume that a baby with plagiocephaly got that way due to being left lying on its back all the time. That may be true in some cases, but certainly not all. And I agree with the pp who said that the parents probably feel pretty self-conscious about their helmet-wearing babies as it is.

The only time I was ever judgmental about a baby helmet was when a friend of mine refused to have her son wear one because she was afraid of what others would think. The doc didn't insist on it, but the child really should have worn one. he always slept with his head to one side and as a result the shape of his head became sort of off-center, with one ear slightly in front of the other and his face sort of skewed to one side. It improved a bit on its own as he got older, but I thought it was pretty irresponsible and selfish of this friend to make that kind of decision for her son.


----------



## LunaMom (Aug 8, 2002)

Hoo boy, that post doesn't really go with my siggy, does it...







:


----------



## DarkHorseMama (Mar 8, 2003)

The reason I phrased the OP the way that I did is because that *was* my immediate reaction. I indicated that it was my _perception_ of the situation and I was attempting to explore the reasons why I did feel that way. Do others feel this way about the babies in helmets? ...if so, why or why not?

Thanks to those who have replied, as I appreciate the input and have expanded my knowledge.


----------



## jaam (Sep 29, 2004)

OK I had no idea that they made helmets to shape babies' heads. And upon reading these posts, I can't help but feel a little bit, um, insecure as a mom I guess. My daughter has a pretty big head for her age. And it's flat in the back. I didn't learn about AP until she was about 4 months, but I didn't leave her laying in a carseat or on the floor for 4 months straight either. I thought that laying her on her back to sleep was *the only thing* you were supposed to do.... by the time I thought her head was getting a little flat in the back and that maybe it would be ok for her to nap on her tummy every once in a while, she'd have none of it. Soooo..... could I be a bad parent for NOT putting my baby in a helmet? When you look at her from the front her head is very wide... and so I wonder is the flattening of the back of her head sort of pushing the sides out making her face appear wider?

Are there health reasons to put your baby in a helmet in cases like mine, or is it mostly for appearances?

And to the original poster..... I don't blame you at all for asking what you did. I don't care what anyone says.... subconciously we _all_ do a little judging. What some people need to learn to do is then step back and say to ourseves "well maybe I don't know his/her whole story..." and be more accepting of that person. Good for you for asking, so that you could learn and no longer be ignorant about it.


----------



## LunaMom (Aug 8, 2002)

AGrace584, you're definitely not a bad parent for not using a helmet! Most babies get a little flattening due to sleeping on their backs, but some babies' heads become seriously distorted and then a helmet may be the remedy. You can ask your pediatrician his/her opinion.

By the way, don't put your four-month-old on her tummy to nap. Babies who sleep on their tummies are more susceptible to SIDS, especially those who normally sleep on their backs and occasionally go onto their tummies. Really. A lot of babies who die of SIDS are back-sleeping babies who are put on their tummies by caregivers other than the parents. I don't want to freak you out, just wanted to inform.

Just let your baby have a lot of tummy time during the day on the floor, and make sure she doesn't spend a lot of her awake time with her head resting against a hard surface.


----------



## teachma (Dec 20, 2002)

My dd (almost 10 months old) has only been in the car seat while riding in the car and has slept on her tummy







: since she was 5 months old or so. Her head looks, and even feels, nice and round to me, but at the pedi visit last week, he remarked that the back of her head was a little flat! Clearly, her situation is not one that woud necessitate, or even benefit much from, a helmet, but it does show that even a baby who hasn't really ever been left on her back can have a flattened head.


----------



## StephandOwen (Jun 22, 2004)

There is a young boy in my ex's family that wears a helmet. He is 2, I believe. I don't know if he still wears it but he was wearing one because his mom and dad took the "back to sleep" a little too far. He was ALWAYS on his back. No tummy time during the day, ect. If he wasn't being held he was laying on his back. Because of this he couldn't hold his head up until he was about 6-7 months old, couldn't crawl until close to 14, didn't walk until just recently (a little over 2 years old). They are not "bad" parents- they were just over cautious.

ETA- they also heard so much about SIDS and feared it so much that anytime they found the baby rolled over (day or night) they would roll him back to his back.


----------



## Mere (Oct 1, 2002)

A little girl (about 10-11 months) in ds' daycare just got a helmet. Apparently, she was born with weaker neck muscles on one side so her head always listed to the right. Poor thing has to wear the helmet for at least 5 months.


----------



## GruppieGirl (Feb 19, 2002)

My dd wore a helmet from 7 to 9 months of age. We had to fight hard to get the correct helmet for her. After all of that fighting and stress I am truly surprised that any parent would judge me as neglectful.

Our neurosurgeon said that he doesn't know for sure why some babies need helmets while others don't.

Here are my guesses for why dd needed a helmet; DD crowned for 4.5 hours and was born with a large conehead. I put her on her back to sleep. She was very heavy and therefore sat-up later than usual. DD hated to lie on her stomach.

Now, ds (#2) was born with a perfect little head, sat-up early and loved to lie on his belly. He didn't need a helmet.

When you are looking at a baby who is wearing a helmet, please think of what a tough decision it must have been for the parents. Think of the hours of head molding the poor baby went through. Think of all of the stares and comments that family must get. And please don't assume the parents are neglectful.


----------



## Ruthla (Jun 2, 2004)

If I saw a baby in a helmet, I'd assume there was some medical reason for it.

I "know" two families online who's babies had/have helmets. One of these babies has hemophilia and needs the helmet to protect her head from "normal toddler falls." She spent her first birthday in the hospital because of a brain bleed from falling without her helmet on.

The other baby needed a helmet for a few months to regulate his head shape- the mom is VERY attached to her kids and I recall what she went through- drs insisting her kid was "fine" and her KNOWING something wasn't- then debating whether or not to fill the prescription for the helmet. It was most definitely NOT a casual decision and her kids are in no way neglected!!

I think you're seeing more babies with helmets because there's more awareness of them- there's a limited window in which a helmet can reshape a baby's head- so a lot of parents are opting to get a helmet rather than "wait and see" until it's too late for the helmet to have any effect (and most DO have a "wait and see" period first, it just can't last indefinitely.)


----------



## onlyzombiecat (Aug 15, 2004)

My dh's half sister had a pretty noticeably lopsided head shape as a baby. They decided to use a hemet and I'm sure it was difficult to have people staring and judging them. It did help her head to reshape to a normal shape that I am sure she will be grateful for as she grows up.
I don't know what the causes were... but I don't think it was neglect.


----------



## indie (Jun 16, 2003)

I used to know a little girl who had to wear a helmet because her skull was too soft and a knock to the head that would be no big deal to another child could seriously hurt or kill her.


----------



## Treasuremapper (Jul 4, 2004)

Yup, there are other reasons. I admit that I used to feel judgemental about that, too.

That is, until I had my second baby, who had surgery when she was eight days old for twisted intestines. She had another birth defect too, that caused her to choke so badly that she would stop breathing. The solution was that she had to rest upright in the side lying position. Yes, she was usually in my arms, held carefully in position, except when napping or asleep at night.

So, it was a big lesson to me. She had to go to see a pediatric neurologist recently, and one of my concerns was about the shape of her head, which appears to me to be slightly flatter on the sides than on the front.

The neurologist said that Rosie did not have the flat head problem, but that it was common in babies who had to have surgery or who had other severe medical problems as infants.

That opened my eyes -- what I had assumed to be a sign of parental neglect may have had something to do with a medical condition requiring a baby to lie on its side. Or it may have to do with something else entirely.

Then I wondered why I was so judgemental in the first place.


----------



## corrie43 (Mar 9, 2003)

My son wore a helmet for a few months. They thought his skull bones were fused together causing the misshaping, and he might need surgery on his skull, so you can believe I was very happy when they said his bones were ok but he would need a helmet.

He slept on his back and prefered to turn his head to one side. I gave him tummy time, held him a lot, ect but sometimes their heads just don't turn out round. It was getting to the point where it was actuallly distorting his facial features. Sure we could have tried repositioning and other things and MAYBE he would have been fine, but all it took was two months in a helmet and he has a perfectly shaped head.


----------



## Past_VNE (Dec 13, 2003)

People have touched on many things here and I just thought I would break it down in one post.

The majority of babies in helmets are due to positional plagiocephaly. That is the head is misshapen due to the position the baby lies in...mostly it is during infancy, but sometimes it is in utero. I met a very nice, AP, organic mama whose son was in birthing position fron 26 weeks on and had a malformed head due to it. He wore a helmet.

I met a mom who followed the back to sleep advice and had a helmet for her her son, who had been premature. I don't think she was at all AP, and got the impression the child spent a large portion of his time in a swing, a carseat, etc.

My own son will be wearing a helmet, starting at the end of this month. He will be in it for ONE YEAR







!! He, however, has a different, more serious, reason. He has something called craniosynostosis, which is the premature fusion of one or more joints in the skull, causing the head to become misshapen, getting progressively worse with age. There is no known cause, though about 2% of cases are thought to be genetic. (Which ours probably is. DH's bro has symptoms.) Cranio requires surgery to remove the fused 'suture' (joint) so that the skull can grow normally. A great link for information is here: www.craniosynostosis.net To see photos of my son, click on this: www.secureflight.com/jett.html Jett's never been in a baby bucket, is slung the cast majority of the time and in-arms the rest. He's rarely even down for 'tummy time' or anything much...he just doesn't like it.

DarkHorseMama, I totally see where you would feel judgemental about this, and in a majority of cases, your judgement may be right. Just don't say anything unless you know.







(Not that you would!)


----------



## corrie43 (Mar 9, 2003)

Past VNE hugs to you. I did so much research on craniosynostosis when they thought our son might have it. The xrays made it look as if he did but the CAT scan ruled it out. It was very difficult to imagine the surgery being done. I hope everything goes well for you guys.


----------



## USAmma (Nov 29, 2001)

Both of my babies were carried in arms and sling more than they were set down. Both of them ended up with flat heads. Abi's was so bad she almost got a helmet, but luckily it grew enough that she didn't have to. If you stand over her head and look down at it while her hair is wet you can still see that it's flat in the back, but not so bad that it's noticeable otherwise.

Nitara was born with torticollis so her mucles and tendons were tight on one side. This was from positioning in the womb. She came out like that. Her head was flat on one side for awhile. I did exercises with her and it's mostly corrected but still there a little.

I don't think it's right to judge people. The only thing I did with both girls was to put them on their backs to sleep for the first three mos. After that they both rolled to their tummies on their own. They both had/have reflux and were sat in their carseats or swings for 30 mins after each feeding. The rest of the time they were carried. Both sat up on their own at 4 mos. old. Abi started crawling at 5.5 mos old. Nitara started to crawl at 7 mos old.

The doctors I talked with about their heads said they see a lot more babies who have this after the "back to sleep" campaign.


----------



## Past_VNE (Dec 13, 2003)

Old thread, I know.

Jett has now been in his helmet (see my avatar or here for the bigger version) for just over one month. I dislike it. He couldn't care less. I don't like it for the following reasons:
It hurts my arm where the rear ridge presses into my arm when we nurse.
Nursing in public is NEVER discreet when your critter's wearing a big white helmet.
He overheats easily and we are stuck inside a lot because of it.
It smells like a cast or a football helmet when he sweat. Otherwise, though, it's like concentrated baby-smell, which I







.
When he's upset, I can't cuddle him into my neck. Actually, when he's upset, I always remove it to cuddle him.

The comments from the general public are very broad and amusing. They range from furtive stares to "what did you let happen to that baby?" to "does he have seizures?" to "boy, he must be REALLY rambunctious" to football/hockey player comments to 'Gee, I guess mom thinks you are going to fall (out of the mei tai or sling)"

Anyway, the folks that irritate me the most are the ones who play the "I'm not looking" game or the ones who have kids that ask them about it and they don't give them an even half-decent answer. I just wish I had the 'nads to go over there and tell the kids what's up, despite the parents. Ah well, I'm working on it.


----------



## William's Mom (Oct 6, 2004)

As other posters have said, there are _many_ reasons why a child may have to wear a helmet that may have nothing to do with the shape of a child's head, and have nothing to do with being (or not being) AP.

Severe Von Willebrand Disease, for example, may cause a child to need a helmet.

My own sweet, sweet son has VWD. And I can assure you that he has never been neglected a day in his life. He slept 12 hours in my arms last night, and right now he is cuddled in my lap, having just happily nursed back to sleep for a nap.

Please do not be judgemental.

There are many things that cannot be seen with the eye, and therefore, we do not know.








to all. Esp to the wee ones wearing helmets, and the parents of them as well.


----------



## FancyD (Apr 22, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *USAmma*
I used to judge a lot, with many things, until it happened to me.









Darshani

There but for the grace of God go I...


----------



## DarkHorseMama (Mar 8, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Past_VNE*
'Gee, I guess mom thinks you are going to fall (out of the mei tai or sling)"

:LOL :LOL That's a new one!

Thanks for the update. It's always nice to see how the babes are growing.


----------



## momaste (Oct 9, 2006)

Old thread, but...

My son had a helmet for plagiocephaly. I didn't neglect him for a moment! He would only lay in one position from the time he was born, and we put him on his back to sleep as we understand it is the safest way to avoid SIDS. (He refused the family bed and slept better in his crib from day one, and still won't even nap with me. He didn't like the sling until he was 5 months, but we still sling now at 13 months.)

We did tummy time, we tried to reposition him, but the flatness continued to develop and wasn't going away on its own. His head was disproportionately large for his body and our neurosurgeon suggested that some babies with bigger heads are more prone to developing plagiocephaly.

We got a lot of rude comments, but mostly they were out of ignorance. One woman told me that her neighbor's baby wore one, then he died. Another person asked if he wore it because I drop him. When I said it was for a medical condition, he very seriously asked if the medical condition was because I drop him.







Another woman said how GOOD it was of me to care for my special needs baby, as if I would just leave him in a field because he didn't fit her idea of perfect. He isn't special needs, he just had a misshapen head!

It pains me to think that someone could have looked at my son and thought that he wore that because of my neglect or abuse.


----------



## hmbay (Sep 7, 2006)

Both of my boys ended up in corrective helmets. My first was a breech baby with low fluid. He was born 6 weeks early and spent 2.5 weeks in the NICU. He had torticollis so bad if you turned his head his head literally snapped back the other way. Our ped said "oh he'll outgrow it" and sent us on our way. By the time I demanded another answer his plagio had gotten so severe even with 5 months in a helmet he still has an uneven face (which will possibly affect his vision, hearing and headaches) and a flat spot on the back of his head. He was given plenty of tummy time.

Our 2nd we were very vigilant about not having this happen again. When we noticed a flat spot on the side of DS2's head at two months we began aggressively repositioning only to change the flat spot to the back of his head. He ended up with a helmet for brachycephaly.

I've done a lot of research on this and no one knows for sure but many drs feel it's more common in preemies (my first) or babies that were low down most of the pregnancy (my 2nd) which can cause constant pressure on the skull and make it not harden as much as it should. Some drs also feel that certain people are just more genetically pre-disposed to having softer skulls. There were children years ago with this problem as well (my dad remembers his cousin had a perfectly flat back of his head and my boss says she has a flat spot on the back of her head and uneven eyes/facial bones) but it's more common now because of "back to sleep" and carseats. However in most cases (as I can attest to) most children wearing corrective helmets are not wearing them from parental neglect.

We are expecting a 3rd child in the fall and I plan to be proactive this time as well but am also accepting of the fact that this child might need a corrective helmet as well as I do think my children might fall into that "genetically pre-disposed" category. I'm just thankful more people know what they are for now than they did with my first. With my first people just stared and I could see them thinking "oh that poor sick baby" and I blamed myself severly for something that wasn't my fault. With my 2nd I had many people comment "my son/daughter/neice etc had one of those" and smile. It makes a world of difference to that parent of that child in the helmet if you know what it's for and give them a smile--trust me they are probably already dealing with "mommy guilt" and could use a break.


----------



## Dott (Dec 6, 2008)

I'm a concerned grandmother of 6 small children ages 4 and under and found this wonderful site after searching for information on infant head-shaping helmets. The first post in this thread caught me by surprise. I was somewhat taken back after reading the poster's comments that infant head problems are caused by lazy parents whose babies stayed in one position too long.

While that can sometimes cause problems, it is not always the case. I have 7-week-old twin granddaughters. They were born at 38 weeks, which is unusual for twins. The twins were big as far as twin births go. One weighed 6 lbs 4 ozs, and the other weighed 5 lbs 9 ozs. In addition to being big, they were also breech. While giving birth via C-Section, it was noted that the smaller twin's head was wedged at the edge of my DIL's rib cage, which caused a huge dent in my granddaughter's skull.

The doctor first felt it may correct itself in time. However, my DIL is learning now that one of her twins will need to wear a helmet to correct the problem. While the dent has, for the most part, gone away, my granddaughter's head is still somewhat lopsided. Fortunately, the pediatrician is being proactive and will begin helmet therapy next week.

I am happy they have a proactive doctor. My oldest grandson (now 4 years old) was also a large baby, and his head was a little lopsided. His then pediatrician didn't think a helmet was necessary, so he still has a slight problem today with the shape of his head and an uneven face.


----------



## Kappa (Oct 15, 2007)

I'm just learning from this thread, but I wanted to comment that I've seen tons of babies with helmets starting about a year ago. I honestly thought they were to protect their heads from impact, I did not know they were for shaping.


----------



## the_lissa (Oct 30, 2004)

Yes my friend's son has plagiocephaly (sp). She was AP and did everything "right."


----------



## KBinSATX (Jan 17, 2006)

I wouldn't have thought that they were for shaping. I figured they were for protection because of some kind of medical condition?


----------



## Theoretica (Feb 2, 2008)

We adopted my 15yo son when he was 2. He was in a helmet for almost a year from 8mos on because of severe occipital positional plagiocephaly. He was severely and atrociously neglected at his birth mother's home. His head is still misshapen and extremely flat in the back, although it's better than it was originally. When talking to the MD they said they have seen an increase in helmets needed due to the back to sleep campaign, but they are always concerned about neglect when it is a severe flattening the way DS's was. There is a clear difference between mild/moderate flattening from sleeping or growth patterns, and gross deformational flattening. As for Craniostenosis, the condition where the growth plates fuse prematurely and cause flattening, that is a pretty rare condition and diagnosed from xray/ct scans, and it cannot be cured with helmets...it requires skull surgery to allow room for their brain to grow. MD was concerned that Izabear had prematurely fused sutures so we already went that route...turned out she's fine









HTH
BellevueMama


----------



## cellarstella (Jan 2, 2006)

I've learned a lot from this thread... thanks OP and repliers! I always get comments on how _perfectly round_ my babies heads are. I swear I didn't do anything to make them that way! I mean, I do carry them a lot, and they chose their own sleep positions... first one slept on her back a lot, and both of them have required the swing for evening fussies when being in my arms was too overwhelming to their senses. We just got lucky, I guess. They both had really short (and extremely painful) crowning stages at birth... perhaps that has something to do with it. Anyway, out of my hands. I had wondered how many babies heads are misshapen that people would be so amazed at my round-headed babies.


----------



## guestmama9920 (Nov 23, 2007)

my baby has never been on her back and has a mishaped head, the back sticks out vs flat









If she needs a helmet I hope people don't think this kind of stuff about us, I'm as AP as they come, my friends remind me that 2 mins on her own won't hurt her


----------



## RoseDuperre (Oct 15, 2007)

I, too, wonder about the potential impact of craniosacral work on the conditions listed here. I'm sure some are too severe, but there might be some benefit for others.

Interesting reading nevertheless!


----------



## NaturalMama311 (Aug 4, 2008)

My DD currently has a mishaped head at 9 weeks. Our Ped has referred us to a Physical Therapist but if PT doesn't work she may need a helmet. DD was breech and apparently stuck in the same position in the womb for quite some time. She had her head turned to one side so since she was born she has favored turning her head to that side. The muscles in her neck are very tight so she has always had a difficult time turning her head to the other side.

Despite the exercises we've been doing to physically turn her head and loosen up the muscles she is still favoring that one side. So, now she has developed somewhat of a 'flat head' on the side she is always laying on. At her last checkup the Ped told me to have her sleep on her side ALL the time now instead of her back so she is forced to lay her head on the opposite side. Right now her entire head is a little crooked, from a top down view it almost looks like a trapezoid....even her forehead is slanted.

We are going to try the PT but the Ped is afraid that may not work as well as they want and she may end up in a helmet. We will try anything to avoid that but we also don't want DD to grow up with a crooked head!


----------



## guestmama9920 (Nov 23, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *NaturalMama311* 
My DD currently has a mishaped head at 9 weeks. Our Ped has referred us to a Physical Therapist but if PT doesn't work she may need a helmet. DD was breech and apparently stuck in the same position in the womb for quite some time. She had her head turned to one side so since she was born she has favored turning her head to that side. The muscles in her neck are very tight so she has always had a difficult time turning her head to the other side.

Despite the exercises we've been doing to physically turn her head and loosen up the muscles she is still favoring that one side. So, now she has developed somewhat of a 'flat head' on the side she is always laying on. At her last checkup the Ped told me to have her sleep on her side ALL the time now instead of her back so she is forced to lay her head on the opposite side. Right now her entire head is a little crooked, from a top down view it almost looks like a trapezoid....even her forehead is slanted.

We are going to try the PT but the Ped is afraid that may not work as well as they want and she may end up in a helmet. We will try anything to avoid that but we also don't want DD to grow up with a crooked head!

lambdoid craniosynostosis is worth a google


----------



## bentleysmommy (May 24, 2013)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *DarkHorseMama*
> 
> I just saw another baby in a helmet today.
> 
> ...


----------



## JennaRose (Nov 8, 2012)

Friends of mine had premie twins, and they are getting a helmet for one of them. I always thought they were for seizures when I first saw them on children, so hearing they were getting because of his skull development was enlightening for me.

The thing that shocked me is that they had to pay for the helmet themselves. They have insurance through the military but it is not covered because it is "cosmetic" even though their pediatrician has highly recommended it because he was a premie.


----------



## fairyswizzle (Aug 19, 2012)

My bb has a pretty noticeable flat spot. She may need a helmet. I'm not going to feel guilty about it because I will do everything in my power to round it out. She has torticollis and we are doing physio but if she needs a helmet, we will get her one. AP'ing is fine and hats off to y'all that have perfectly shaped babies, but for those of us who don't, please be kind and don't judge us. Wearing her more would not have fixed her muscle tightness.


----------

