Is infant head distortion normal?

Most babies have head distortion due to the position of their head when lying down or being influenced by the mother's birth canal to be born. This makes children lose their aesthetics as adults. Therefore, please pay attention and have a way to adjust early.

Many infants have distorted heads, but is this a concern? Understanding the cause of this phenomenon will help you recognize normal and abnormal head shape as well as appropriate treatment.

Causes babies to distort their heads

Sometimes the baby's head is changed when it passes through the mother's birth canal. In other cases, postnatal change in head shape is caused by pressure exerted on the head behind the baby while lying on his back.

You should pay attention to the software on the top of the baby's head where the child's skull is not yet fused together. These spots are called tents, which allow the large head to pass through the narrow birth canal in the mother. Squeezing also helps children gradually adapt to brain development in infancy and infancy. Because the child's skull is quite flexible, when a baby tends to lie on one side for a long time, his head will be distorted.

Normal and irregular head shape

You can detect the tip of the investment due to the posture when observing the child from above. From this position, the back of the head on one side may be flatter than the other. Ears on the flatter side may be pushed forward.

Is a distorted infant a concern?

The phenomenon of babies being distorted due to posture will affect the baby's aesthetics later. The dented side of the head is related to the pressure exerted on that side of the head but does not harm the brain, so it does not affect the child's development .

Do not worry too much about the baby's head shape while the baby is still developing normally. In the first few months after birth, proper head and neck holding will help distribute the force evenly over the baby's skull and make the head rounder.

How is the treatment?

Doctors will examine to determine if the distorted baby is due to position or not? Changing a baby's lying position can reduce head distortion and return the baby's head to roundness. For example:

Change direction of sleep:  Continue to put your baby to sleep on his back, but change the direction of his head when you put him to sleep. You should also change the hand when you hold the baby. If your baby returns to its original position when he sleeps, adjust his head the next time he sleeps.

Holding the baby:  Holding the baby while the baby is awake will help reduce the pressure on the baby's head instead of placing the baby in a crib or vibrating chair.

Tummy exercises :  You can carefully observe your baby and let him sleep on his stomach for a short time, doing many times a day will help him develop better muscles and reduce the pressure on the brain.

Helmets help keep head shape

If dented head does not improve when you change position around 6 months or when your baby is more than 8 months old and is heavily dented, your doctor may advise you to use a helmet to help keep the picture suitable head shape. This special helmet will help reduce the pressure applied to the flat head area.

Head-shape helmets are most effective when applied from months 4 to 12, when the skull is still soft and the brain develops rapidly. Treatment with this helmet will no longer be effective when the child is over 1 year old, because the skull is clumping and the brain grows more slowly.

Other notes when children are distorted

Occasionally, muscle tissue abnormalities such as scoliosis in babies  can cause the baby to hold his head on one side. In this case, physical therapy is very important to help stretch the neck muscles and make it easier for the child to change head position.

In more rare cases, two or more young skulls fuse prematurely. This condition forces other parts of the skull to deform, and is known as early cranial joint malformation or cranial stenosis. To help a child's brain have enough space to develop and mature, the attached skull needs surgery to separate.

If you are concerned about your baby's head shape, take your baby to the doctor for diagnosis and treatment as needed.