Plagiocephaly also known as flat head syndrome,is a condition characterized by an asymmetrical distortion (flattening of one side) of the skull. It is characterized by a flat spot on the back or one side of the head caused by remaining in a supine position for too long.
Plagiocephaly is the word that is used to describe a diagonal asymmetry across the head shape. This word particularly describes a flattening which is to one side at the back of the head and there is often some facial asymmetry. Brachycephaly describes a very wide head shape with a flattening across the whole back of the head.
So you may be wondering how this is treated... It's treated in a few different ways. After her 2 month appointment we were instructed to wedge her when she laid down so that she would lay more on her right side. This worked for about the first 10 mins of sleeping or laying down and then our little squirmer would move flat to her back again and turn her head to the left. We also tried crib repositioning each night hoping that if her head was pointing a different direction, she might turn it to the right instead of the left. Well, no such luck because at her 4 month appointment we were referred to "Mr. Personality". After what was the most uncomforable doc appointment I've ever been to (and I've been to a lot of them) and after this doc searched in the Yellow Pages for the orthodics place, we were told our little Jesody would have to wear a helmet. Now, being how I am, I had already done my research on plagiocephaly and was prepared for this type of news so I wasn't shocked to hear about this wonderful helmet she'll have to sport. I'm not sure if I fully trust the doc when he told us she only has to wear it when she's laying on her back or in her car seat because what I've read is that most babies wear these helmets for 23 hours a day and the doc at the orthodics place told us to work up to that amount of hours. Either way, she basically has to wear it all day long because she's up and down a lot in a day.
About a month ago now, we went to Winkly Orthodics in Eau Claire and had her fitted for her little helmet. That was quite the process. I had to be robed up while I held her and she had a drop cloth on too. Then they put a stocking cap on her and did some marks in it and then the fun part started... they had to cast her head for the helmet. By the time the doc got to the last part of the casting, she was not happy! It had to be hot with a stocking cap on and plaster around her head! The doc said it would take 2 weeks for the helmet to come in and he was right because they called last week to set up her appointment for today.
We went up to Eau Claire today and picked up her new helmet. Good thing we were the only ones in the place because she pitched a fit right away when they put it on her and continued to until we left. Like I stated before, we have to work towards longer periods of time with it on and tonight we didn't do much with it. In fact, since this weekend is crazy busy and she'll be with Grandma for the most part, we decided to wait until Monday to officially start her "breaking in" period.
We're not sure how long she'll have to wear this lovely helmet. It could be just a couple months or until she's 1. It all depends on how fast her head forms. The doctor did say that if we hit a growth spurt that it may only be a couple months of wearing it and she'd be good to go, although we can't count on that happening because through my reading, a lot of kids are in them for a good 6 months if not longer.
So anyways, I wanted to write this to try to clear up any questions anyone has because this isn't something you see every day. Like infertility, the more you talk about it, the more you hear of other people that have went through this. The biggest misconseption with plagiocephaly is that the child is not held enough causing the child to be laid on his/her back for extended periods of time causing the flattening of the head... Well, this did NOT happen because she is not held enough or left to lay on the floor all day long. This is something that can happen in utero and because of the "back is best" campaign, it's happening a lot more often. Could it have been prevented? I'm not sure. All I know is that our little girl is perfect to us, no matter what her head shape is; and with any luck, she'll only have to wear this wonderful helmet for a short period of time to get the roundness she needs. So if you see us out and about, Jesody will more than likely be wearing her helmet... and she's the cutest baby you'll ever see in a helmet!! Hope this will clear up any questions you all might have, if not, ask away! Until the next update...
M,C & J
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