"Plagiocephaly affects almost half of infants." New plagiocephaly research in Canada has revealed that infants now have almost a 50 percent chance of developing the condition.
The study, published in by the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, was the first to investigate the incidence of plagiocephaly across four separate locations. Specifically, it looked at 7 – 12 week old infants attending the 2-month well-child clinic in four practices across Calgary in Alberta, Canada.
A total of 440 infants were assessed, 205 (46.6%) of whom were observed to have plagiocephaly in some form or another. Of these, 78.35% had a mild form. This means that in terms of the population as a whole, around 10.5% infants have moderate to severe plagiocephaly.
Discover the paper in full.
What to do if your baby has mild plagiocephaly
If your baby has a mild form of the condition, it is important to make sure that this doesn’t get any worse. The best way to tackle plagiocephaly at this stage is through repositioning. In other words, you need to take measures to ensure that your baby doesn’t place too much pressure on any one part of the head for a sustained amount of time.
While it’s still important that your baby sleeps on the back, aim to remove pressure from the back of the head for at least 50% of the time while they are awake. Some popular methods for this include using a carry sling, placing your baby on the front to play and alternating sides when breastfeeding.
The same plagiocephaly research paper also showed that 63.2% of affected infants have a flattening on the right hand side. Be sure to alter the side your baby faces while asleep. Try placing them at the other end of the cot on alternate nights or if they are in a Moses basket beside your bed, turn it head to toe on alternate nights, or move toys from one side to the other to encourage them to change their orientation. (Read blog about repositioning)
If your baby has a tight muscle in one side of the neck (torticollis) which prevents your baby turning his head, have this investigated as soon as you notice it.
What to do if your baby has moderate to severe plagiocephaly
Where repositioning methods fail to cure plagiocephaly in infants, other measures must be put in place before they begin to roll independently, the skull hardens and the deformity becomes irreversible.
Plagiocephaly helmets work with the natural growth of the head to gently ease the bones back into a more normal position. This treatment is fully safe and the helmet’s soft foam liner will ensure comfort at all times. It’s also guaranteed to work – the TimBandAir helmet has a fantastic success rate throughout our UK clinics.
So in order to correct your baby’s severe plagiocephaly safely and effectively, contact Technology in Motion. We have 10 years’ experience in providing this treatment and are widely regarded as the leading clinical team in this field.
