back of babys head is a bit flat...?

[joko]

the back of my 6 month old nieces head seems a bit flat, and bulges a bit above her ears - I remember seeing something on tv a while ago about a little boy who had to wear a head brace to reshape it as not only does it look odd, but it can cause problems with the brain.

Does anyone know what the disorder is called and how you can tell if your baby has this?
And what we should do?
I think a health visitor should have spotted this but she has a tonne of hair so she may not have noticed.

Of course I may be wrong but my mum noticed it too.

Thanks for any help

[Ethel]

Does the baby spend time in a car seat? That seems to be a common cause of this today. It is called Flat Head Syndrome.

Have a read of this, and if the baby's mum is concerned she should take the baby to the GP:

http://www.safekids.co.uk/FlatHeadSyndromeInBa bies.html

[innocenti]

Most babies get a flat head at the back. This is due to the flexibility of the skull and the fact that babies lie on their back s for hours.

I am not sure about the bulging above the ears and I am sure a health visitor would have picked it up. Maybe next time the Health Visitor calls mention it to them.

[redcrx]

Get her parents to speak to the health visitor about it. Babies often get a bit of a flat head but their position should be changed often so that they dont lie on same spot all the time

[4getmenot]

My head was squashed when I was born and thats how my gland ended up behind my ear. I never needed a head thingy, maybe just swapping :-)

[joko]

thanks for that ethel and innocenti.

my sis is not worried - i haven't mentioned it yet, i just wanted to make sure whether it was a problem before i mentioned it, as she is a panicker.

I am so glad it is not dangerous - i must have misunderstood the tv familys reason for the helmet thing.

hopefully now it will round out a bit - she does like to sleep on her side now.

thanks again

[joko]

thanks guys, yeah i think i will suggest she mentions it anyway, just to be sure.

the HV will presumably show my sis how to place the baby to sleep to help round it.

[dot.hawkes]

my eldest son was birn with a cross over the top of his head where the four plates of the skull had not knitted together to form the triangle and the diamond that babies usually had. he was overdue and so it was not a premature issue, the midwives called him a jesus baby, they took him to the ICBU after the peadiatrition had seen him and actually his dad had had to go back to the base and so did not know about it til he came to visit later that night. i was in a real state. anyway, they advised us that he would be back overnight and we would have to make sure he did not lie on any one side too long and that after a few months the skull would have formed as it should. which it did, at the time it was quite scary as i had no idea what was happening and i was not able to have my mum there as she was up in lancashire. It left no lasting problems anyway, except that now he is 25 he is as daft as a brush.

[4getmenot]

maybe thats my problem dot

[nutgoneflake]

I've heard of this lots of times, all over the place but coincidentally only saw a baby wearing one of the little cap thingies for the first time this week, outside school. He was totally unaware of it, and the whole thing was clear, so not that noticeable. It was shaped over his tiny ears and padded round the edges, so obviously comfortable. I only noticed it because his mum was holding him while chatting next to me. From a bit further away, I wouldn't have noticed it at all.

I'm only saying this so that you could help make sure your sister doesn't worry about it, if it turns out your niece needs one. She may have thought it already, but if she hasn't, you'll have to be careful how you broach the subject! xx