Babies With Flat Heads On The Rise

A new review of the texas birth defects registry shows that cases of flattened heads plagiocephaly increased nine fold between 1999 and 2007 rising from 2 6 cases per 10 000 live births all the.

Babies with flat heads on the rise.

Flat head syndrome now affects 47 percent of babies and guidelines to prevent sudden infant death syndrome could be to blame. Or in infancy if a baby spends too much time flat on his back. The condition can cause the baby s head to look. The most common form is positional plagiocephaly.

Babies are vulnerable because their skull is soft and. Babies born with flat head syndrome has risen dramatically in texes and is expected to follow in other states. Flat spots related to pressure on the back of the head don t cause brain damage or interfere with a baby s development. Plagiocephaly is a condition that causes a baby s head to have a flat spot flat head syndrome or be misshapen.

A lot has changed since my son was born in 2002. In the study reported cases of plagiocephaly jumped from 3 cases per 10 000 live births to 28 8 cases per 10 000 live births between 1999 to 2007 according to data. At birth particularly with a forceps or vacuum delivery. Keep in mind that if you spend too much time worrying about your baby s head shape you might miss some of the fun of being a new parent.

It occurs when a baby s head develops a flat spot due to pressure on that area. Flat head syndrome can even start before birth if there s pressure on the baby s skull from the mother s pelvis or a twin. Between 1999 and 2007 the number of cases of plagiocephaly misshapen areas in. Experts now know that positional plagiocephaly can originate in utero from growth restriction.

Plagiocephaly or flat spots on the head are now found in nearly. In fact many babies from multiple births are born with heads that have some flat spots. Now he figures that babies with flat heads account for one of every four new outpatient visits at a i dupont hospital for children in wilmington del where he is a neurosurgeon. Babies with flat heads on the rise.