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baby has flat head on one side
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Posted by HeatherB (My Page) on Mon, Jan 28, 02 at 13:47
| My friends 3 month old baby has a flat head on one side, because he loves sleeping on that side. She has tried turning his head, propping it with blankets ect. BUT nothing seems to work. He will not sleep on his stomach (cries). She is worried that it will stay that way. Mother and mother in law has brought attention to it numerous times causing my friend to feel overly concerned. Has anyone else had this happen? How long did it take for the head to round out? Is there anything she can do? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: baby has flat head on one side
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| Sounds like it might be a torticollis. This describes a condition where the neck muscles on one side of the body are tight and therefore the baby tends to bend his neck in one direction. He cries when she tries to turn his head becuase it hurts him due to the tight muscles. Head flattening is common with torticollis. It is treatable, but time is of essence. Tell your friend she should have her son evaluated by a physical therapist. This is done through the county's department of health. At three months of age it can be a matter of a few sessions with a PT and consistent carry-over on the part of the mom. If it is not addressed, he is facing orthopedic and sensory problems as well as possible surgery int he future. |
RE: baby has flat head on one side
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| If the baby consistently sleeps on the same side that is flat, then it's probably nothing serious. It's called positional plagiocephaly. My baby slept on his back for the first 6 months of his life. The back of his head was flat as a board (the doctor said it was nothing to worry about). Now he's 7 months old, sitting up a lot and sleeping on his side. The back of his head is rounding out again. It's almost completely normal. I know there are cases of this that can be serious, but the majority of these cases turn out to be nothing. It can't hurt for your friend to ask her doctor about it, but she can probably relax. |
RE: baby has flat head on one side
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| I haven't done any research on it, but I have heard most babies tend to look toward the centre of the room when they sleep. Maybe if you switch the end of the bed that he sleeps on each night, it will help. |
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