When to Know if Your Baby Needs a Helmet
Parents naturally beginning to worry if a apartment spot began forming on the dorsum of your baby's head. It tin be scary not knowing if it will go away. Since 47% of infants have some sort of flat spot, and one in 10 needing treatment, you're non solitary. Your pediatrician may recommend a helmet for your baby to wear to assist gently mold their skull dorsum into a round shape.
What causes a flat spot on my baby's head?
Many parents who observe out their baby needs a helmet starting time to arraign themselves. You might even wonder if pesky apartment spots — which are technically referred to as plagiocephaly — could have been avoided. The truth is, most babies don't have perfectly shaped heads. In fact, most adults don't take perfectly shaped heads either. Minor flat spots and lumps are normal. When your baby has a large flat spot on their skull, it's well-nigh oft a outcome of birth — your baby's skull may have get unevenly shaped while passing through the birth canal — or because they regularly lay flat on their back.
Your infant's skull is malleable, which means the skull bones move more than easily than they do in adulthood. This allows your baby's head to move through the birth culvert, and for their brain to grow during infancy. But it also means abiding pressure to the back or side of the head can cause permanent malformation if it's non corrected.
When does my baby need a helmet?
The shape of your baby's caput usually won't cause brain damage or other developmental issues. In fact, about insurances and doctors consider a flat spot to be a cosmetic problem. So how exercise you know if you demand to get a helmet for your baby?
Your doctor will check your infant'southward head size and shape at each well-child visit. These visits happen about every ii months during infancy. If your baby has a large flat spot that isn't getting better past about four months of historic period, your doctor may prescribe a helmet. For a helmet to be constructive, treatment should begin betwixt iv and half dozen months of age. This will let for the helmet to gently shape your baby's skull as they grow. Handling is generally considered ineffective after age 1 because the skull has started to fuse together.
What does wearing a helmet involve?
Correcting positional plagiocephaly with a helmet isn't for the faint of centre. Y'all demand to keep the helmet on your baby for 23 hours a day during treatment. Most of the time, helmets are worn for several months. Your child's helmet volition take to exist adjusted regularly, sometime weekly, to proceed upwardly with their growth and changing caput shape. Because insurance doesn't ever cover a helmet, it tin can be expensive to purchase and adjust a helmet regularly.
Other treatment options for positional plagiocephaly
Some research has shown that unproblematic repositioning techniques may exist just as constructive equally wearing a molded helmet. Your doctor may also suggest physical or occupational therapy to right any additional problems similar infant torticollis, which involves a twisted cervix. These techniques can help you reposition your baby and give their skull the opportunity to correct flat spots on their own:
- Make tummy time a priority. Under supervision, place your babe on his tummy every 24-hour interval. This gives the back of your child'due south head a break and helps your kid strengthen his neck muscles.
- Cuddle. Holding your baby isn't just great bonding fourth dimension. Information technology also relieves pressure on the back of your child's head that happens naturally equally your baby sits in a auto seat, swing, or carrier.
- Change things up. Effort placing your baby in positions that will force him to turn away from the flat spot on his head. Breastfeed from both sides. Put him down in his crib in different positions and so he'll have to turn to run across you. You lot tin can also endeavour moving his crib occasionally so no one spot on his caput gets overused or flattened.
In nigh cases, your babe's head shape volition resolve on its ain. Given time and a little effort, your infant's head will grow and return to normal as they begin moving and doing more. Wearing a helmet is also a good way to correct large malformation or flat spots on your babe's head. Ask your doctor if your baby needs a helmet and what you can exercise to correct his flat spot.
Source: https://intermountainhealthcare.org/blogs/topics/pediatrics/2018/04/what-is-positional-plagiocephaly/#:~:text=If%20your%20baby%20has%20a,baby's%20skull%20as%20they%20grow.
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