helps normal shaping of the back the head.Provide plenty of supervised time for your baby to lie on the stomach while awake during the day. So what can parents do when flat head syndrome is due to a sleeping or lying position? Simple practices like changing a baby's sleep position, holding your baby, and providing lots of "tummy time" can help it go away.Try these tips: How Is Flat Head Syndrome Treated?Ĭaregivers should always place babies on their back to sleep to help prevent sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), even with possibility of flat head syndrome. Avoiding swings, car seats, bouncy chairs, and other devices is safest for sleep and also helps to make sure that babies can move their head freely. To check for torticollis, the doctor may watch how a baby moves the head and neck. How Is Flat Head Syndrome Diagnosed?ĭoctors often can diagnose flat head syndrome by looking at the baby's head. If torticollis is the cause, the neck, jaw, and face also might be uneven. In severe cases, the forehead might bulge on the side opposite from the flattening, and may look uneven. When looking down at the baby's head, the ear on the flattened side may look pushed forward.The baby usually has less hair on that part of the head.The back of the baby's head is flatter on one side.What Are the Signs & Symptoms of Flat Head Syndrome?įlattened head syndrome usually is easy for parents to notice: So those with severe flattening on one side tend to stay on that side, and their necks become stiff from lack of use. It takes a lot of energy for babies to turn their heads. Then, once the head has a flat spot, the torticollis (tor-ti-KOLL-iss) can get worse. Because it's hard to turn their head, babies tend to keep their heads in the same position when lying down. This neck condition is called torticollis. In fact, many babies from multiple births are born with heads that have some flat spots.įlat head syndrome is caused by tight neck muscles that make it hard for babies to turn their heads. They also spend a lot of time on their backs without being moved or picked up because of their medical needs, such as a stay in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).įlat head syndrome can even start before birth if there's pressure on the baby's skull from the mother's pelvis or a twin. Their skulls are softer than those of full-term babies. Premature babies are more likely to have a flattened head. This happens not only while they sleep, but also from being in infant car seats, carriers, strollers, swings, and bouncy seats. Infants are on their backs for many hours every day, so the head sometimes flattens in one spot. The most common cause of a flattened head is a baby's sleep position. This causes a flat spot, either on one side or the back of the head.įlat head syndrome is also called positional plagiocephaly (pu-ZI-shu-nul play-jee-oh-SEF-uh-lee). Flat head syndrome usually happens when a baby sleeps with the head turned to the same side during first months of life.
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