Plagiocephaly

I thought I would write my first proper blog post about something that had been a great deal of concern to me, but I found very little comfort online.

My son has right sided plagiocephaly or flat head syndrome.

Little E had a pretty deformed skull to begin with, as he got stuck in my pelvis in pregnancy and didn't roll from about 30 weeks onwards. We were reassured by our midwives that it would get better and it did. It was amazing to feel the skull plates moving every day.

Unfortunately, this then meant we missed how bad the right sided flattening was becoming. It was only at 3 months we realised it was a problem.

I'm a doctor and in my head I knew there was nothing to be done and we just had to wait for it to get better and encourage him onto his left side, etc, as much as possible.

But I checked with Google....

Every story I read and message board on mumsnet was from very upset parents with the same problem who had spent thousands on special helmets to mould the skull back into a more regular shape. No one seemed to have a positive story.

So, the doubt crept in. What if Little E was stuck like this and I hadn't done everything I could to help?

I couldn't bear the thought of the helmets, but I did see an osteopath and a physiotherapist, just to check it wasn't from tension in his neck. Everything, of course, was fine.

So, we went with standard NHS advice - as much time off the back of his head as we could manage. We moved all his toys, including his cot mobile, to his left side. I forced him to do as much tummy time as he could bear. We padded his pram to make it softer on his head and carried him in his Bjorn as much as I could tolerate.

And you know what, the difference is amazing, especially once he started rolling and sitting. It's hard to take photos of the problem, but I have included some, so people can see the progress. We have until he is 18 months when the skull plates fuse and I am so hopeful of the final result. Here he is at just under 8 months.

I suspect he will always be slightly flatter on that side, but so what? It's amazing how I now look at people's head shape. Who knew there were so many shapes, sizes and contours? He will be individual, just like everyone else.

It also helps that a research paper came out recently, saying they could find no difference between children with no treatment and those with helmets. Of course...can I find the paper anywhere? Grrrr...

I hope this gives some comfort to those who are in a similar position to me. It WILL get better. Spend the money if you want on the helmet, but I'm glad I didn't.