The joy of welcoming your baby into the world is like no other. But what happens if you soon realise that there is a problem with your baby’s head shape? NCT member, and founder of a new parents’ support group called Headstart, Philip Saich looks at the diagnosis and treatment of plagiocephaly, a rare condition affecting an increasing number of babies.

Our son Ben was born by rotational forceps on 3rd June 2004 at The Rosie Maternity Hospital in Cambridge. Despite a difficult delivery, Ben made a great start. Within three months, however, my fiancée Karen noticed that Ben’s head was an odd shape: there was a flat area at the back of his head, his ears were out of alignment and one cheek was more prominent than the other. His head had the appearance of a parallelogram, rather than the soft round curves usually associated with a young baby. This condition, we now know, is called ‘positional plagiocephaly’.

Plagiocephaly is caused by a number of factors, including back-sleeping – a result of the ‘back to sleep’ campaign which has prevented a huge number of cot deaths, but inadvertently contributes to this condition. Other causes can include a reduced amount of amniotic fluid during pregnancy, an instrumental delivery and a condition called torticollis, which affects the muscles in the baby’s neck and results in the baby looking to one side only.

Karen raised the issue with our health visitor, who reassured us that Ben’s plagio would probably round out as his head grew and that we shouldn’t worry unduly. But his head shape was not improving – it was possibly even deteriorating.

By pure good fortune, Karen bumped into another mum, Claire, whose baby son was wearing a helmet. She quickly realised that Claire’s son James was suffering from the same condition as Ben and obtained the details of their specialist. We emailed some photos of Ben’s head shape to the specialist, and made an appointment to see him as soon as we could.

The specialist diagnosed that Ben’s head was 21mm out of alignment – technically a severe deformity – and after an emotional discussion we decided to proceed with the treatment. A cast was made of Ben’s head the same day and we returned two weeks later for the fitting. At his first check-up, his misalignment had reduced from 21mm to just 5mm in only six weeks, a spectacular result. This reassured us that we had done the right thing in seeking treatment, especially as the NHS consultant to whom we were first referred later wrote to our GP saying that he didn’t consider it appropriate for him to see Ben at his clinic.

While there is no proof of the side-effects of positional plagiocephaly, it is likely that the condition may cause dental and jaw problems, increased migraines, and psychological problems associated with bullying at school. Many NHS professionals dismiss plagio as a purely cosmetic condition, which may disappear as the baby’s head grows, or be concealed with hair, but many parents we have spoken to believe that it should be treated to save complications later in life.

To help parents understand plagiocephaly, to provide help and advice, and to publish success stories, we have launched a not-for-profit organisation called Headstart. Should you wish to find out more about plagiocephaly, or to make a donation to assist us in our work, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!

Headstart4Babies Ltd
5 The Quay, St Ives, Cambs PE27 5AR
Tel: 07703 320747
Email: info@headstart4babies.co.uk
www.headstart4babies.co.uk