Treatment of Flat Head Syndrome

It is important for parents to understand that the sooner the management of a baby’s flat head is undertaken the better!

Those babies that come to my clinic aged less than 6 months old do a lot better than those who are over 6 months. Therefore early detection is of upmost importance.

As previously stated, there is an approximate 12 month window of opportunity, in which the babies’ skulls are soft enough to start to recover their shape. Please remember that whilst the bones are soft enough to improve in shape, they are also soft enough to become worse!

In the cases of a simple ‘flat head syndrome’ the babies head is very capable of self-correcting back to shape over a period of time, PROVIDING THE INITIAL CAUSE IS REMOVED, i.e. any and all flat surfaces!

The second problem with placing your baby on a flat surface once a flattening has started, is that gravity will want to roll the head back on to the flat spot (which is why objects are designed with flat bottoms for stability against gravity), thereby making the condition progress even further.

Having understood the principals in the causation, the management and treatment will seem more common sense and obvious.

It is imperative that you take away any prolonged pressure from flat surfaces, be it for example from a flat mattress, car seat, bouncy chair or a carpeted floor. Providing the baby’s skull bones are still soft, the head will start to self-correct, as shown by the published research form the SleepCurve Clinical Study at Alder Hey Children’s hospital (Link Below).

How do you reduce the pressure from flat surfaces on a baby’s skull?

There are number of ways and devices that can be used to reduce the deforming pressure from a flat surface on your baby’s skull.

Helmet Therapy

A correctly fitting baby helmet that is purchased from an orthotist may help with your baby’s head shape. The baby’s generally have to be older to tolerate the helmet and severe cases can become less severe. The process takes place by removing the pressure from a baby’s skull by using the helmet. There is generally a misunderstanding that the helmet somehow pushes the skull back in to shape. This is not the case.

The helmets are advised to be worn 23 hrs a day, they can be quite uncomfortable and some are quite hot for the baby.

The cost of a helmet is also VERY expensive at several thousands of pounds.

There have also been a number of studies conducted, resulting in the findings that “expensive helmets do not correct skull flattening in babies”, and this has been published in the British Medical Journal and elsewhere in the UK.

BBC News Article “Baby helmets ‘have no added value’, study finds”

Orthotic Mattresses

Mattresses designed to accommodate your baby’s head curve, such as the SleepCurve mattress.

This is a mattress that I have personally invented and have been actively involved with for many years. It has helped me successfully manage many babies head shapes and has had a very high success rate with treating Flat Head Syndrome.

The mattresses have been extensively tested and trialled at Alder Hey Children’s hospital, with the results published in medical journals, as well as presented at medical conferences to paediatricians.

Positioning

In my experience, positioning your baby on a flat mattress doesn’t work and is bad advice.

If a baby has a preferred side to which to rotate their head, they will invariable rotate back on to the flat spot, also being encouraged by gravity. Even though this advice is often offered to worried parents by health care professionals, it often ends up in disappointment.

Pillow Inserts

These products are not advised due to potential safety issues. They may have an effect in reducing the pressure on a babies’ head before any flattening starts, but there is no evidence to suggest that they are in any way effective in helping the reshaping process.