I hope all of you and your familias are doing well! I posted my concerns about my baby boy developing flat head syndrome a couple of weeks back and I got an overwhelming amount of questions and concerns from all of you new mamás out there. So I decided to do a follow up and ask an expert to help me answer some of your more common questions and concerns on this topic. Dr. Jane Scott is a board certified pediatrician and neonatologist and she's the founder of Tortle, a product that helps with exactly this problem!
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As a neonatologist and pediatrician, babies and moms are Dr. Scott's life. She not only has firsthand experience as a mother (she had four premature babies), she also works with infants who have severe medical conditions and understands how difficult this can be for families.
Paula: Why do babies get flat heads?
Dr. Scott: Largely because of two safety recommendations! The first recommendation was "Back to Sleep" in the early 1990s. Soon after this happened, the incidence of flat head increased, although the incidence of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) decreased substantially, which was a really good thing. The second thing was associated with the advent of beautiful carriers and the recommendation to use infant car seats. Again, a very good thing. However, this put the infant in a position where they are now laying with the back of their little heads against a firm surface up to an average of 15 hours per day! Babies' heads are soft because they have to be not only for birth, but also because their brains are growing at record speeds. This combination has resulted in an epidemic of flat head syndrome. The most recent figures show that 46 percent of our babies have developed flat spots by the age of 3 or 4 months. The problem was initially thought to be cosmetic and that most infants would outgrow the problem. Unfortunately this is proving not to be the case. Large numbers of babies need to be treated by physical or occupational therapists, not only for flat spots (plagiocephaly) but also for tight neck muscles called torticollis. Another group ends up in custom helmets in an attempt to correct the problem.
Paula: How can we prevent this from happening to our babies?
Dr. Scott: The answer is simple: Keep their heads from laying in the same spot. Much more difficult to do, especially if the infant has a head preference to lay on one area of their heads. Head preference unfortunately is really common.
Paula: Why did you come up with Tortle?
Dr. Scott: I found that even educating the parents did not prevent the problem. They needed a tool! The tool needed to be light weight, attractive, easy-to-use and affordable. I soon realized that the Tortle needed to travel with the baby (since moms are on the go) and it also needed to be able to actively reposition the baby's head from side to side. Holding the head in one position just makes the problem worse.
*The best position for your baby to sleep is flat on their back, with their heads being turned from side to side. I usually suggest repositioning the baby's head after feedings when you put baby down to rest on a flat surface. The Tortle helps with that.
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Paula: What exactly is the Tortle?
Dr. Scott: Tortle is a soft cotton blend knit beanie with a positioning roll that can be placed as needed to turn the baby's head from side to side, and also the roll can be used over the flat spot to prevent the baby from laying on that one area. Once baby lays on a different area of the head, the head will reshape to a round attractive shape as long as baby is under 6 months. The risk time for developing flathead syndrome is between birth and six months.
Paula: Why do we have concerns about flat head syndrome?
Dr. Scott: For a long time, even medical people thought it was just a cosmetic thing, however, as medical research studies are being performed and children are being tested it appears to be associated with developmental problems as well as other medical concerns. My own thought is that flat head shows us that the babies are not moving enough, and that it is lack of movement that is the real problem for our precious young children.
Lets try to give our babies more opportunities to move! My baby boy, Antonio, has been sleeping with the Tortle and I even use it when he's in his high chair during the day! I don't know if this will work for Toñito, but I'm willing to try it. It also seems a lot less intrusive than a helmet. I will give you my honest opinions and progress reports on Toñito's head shape improvements. Let me know if any of you are using Tortle or anything else!
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Xo,
Paula
Images via Paula Garces
