![]() ![]() This ensures he doesn’t always rest in the same position, which helps keep one side of his head from flattening. But it’s a good idea to vary his sleep position (laying him down with his head at alternate ends of the crib) - especially if he has a misshapen head for any reason. You should always place your baby to sleep on his back to help prevent SIDS. Working your way up to 15 minutes (or more) of tummy time per day helps to strengthen your baby’s neck muscles, as well as develop motor skills that will one day help your baby learn to crawl. One of the best ways to prevent and treat a misshapen head is to make sure your baby gets plenty of supervised tummy time when he’s awake. Otherwise, the treatment for baby’s head shape depends on the cause. If your newborn’s head is misshapen from his journey down the birth canal, your doctor may very well take a wait-and-see approach, as a cone shape will likely go away on its own without any treatment within a couple of weeks. In the rare case that your baby’s head shape is still severely asymmetrical after a year, a special muscle-release surgery may help. Congenital torticollis. Your pediatrician will likely diagnose your baby within the first few weeks and suggest special exercises and maybe physical therapy.Flat spots. Almost all flattened areas are minor and disappear by the time a child is 2 years old, especially if you carefully follow your doctor’s recommendations.If you’re concerned, ask your doctor, who can rule out other potential (rare) causes and recommend treatment if necessary to help your baby’s head take a rounder shape. Conehead. You can expect your baby’s head to round out within a few days to weeks of birth.Also let your doctor know if your baby’s fontanelles haven’t started to shrink within one year. In either case, contact your baby’s doctor. Two (rare) signs of trouble: A sunken fontanelle could signal dehydration, and a constantly bulging one could indicate pressure on the brain. Soft spots. Your baby’s soft spots are totally normal and much less fragile than they seem, since they’re covered by strong membranes that safeguard the brain.Here’s what you should keep an eye out for: In nearly all cases (and especially with treatment), your baby’s head shape will eventually become a non-issue. Should you worry about baby’s head shape? That means that baby’s head shape may become more asymmetrical over time if your baby usually sleeps or rests with his head facing his preferred side. Tight conditions in the womb, like if your baby is in the breech position, can affect the way the neck muscles develop.īabies with torticollis have a difficult time moving their head to one side. Sometimes an asymmetrical baby head shape (flattening on one side of the head) is due to congenital torticollis, a normally mild condition characterized by limited neck mobility. Spending lots of time lying flat in a car seat, stroller or rocker can similarly lead to a flat spot on part of the head. And babies who experienced extra cramped conditions in the womb (often twins or multiples) may be born with a flat spot on the head too. The not-so-nice by-product of the “back to sleep” campaign: flat spots that appear on baby’s head if he always rests in the same position - a condition known as positional plagiocephaly, to get technical. Placing babies on their backs to sleep is one of the most effective ways to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). It’ll start to close when your baby is about 6 months old and close completely (forming a solid skull) by the time he reaches 18 months. The largest soft spot is on top of your newborn’s head, called the anterior fontanelle, can measure up to 2 inches across. The fontanelles also give your baby’s brain room to grow (very!) rapidly during his first year. And if you’ve had a vaginal delivery - especially one in which you had to push for a long time - that head may appear pointy or cone-shaped, thanks to the time spent squeezing through. They helped your infant’s head to shift and mold so it could fit through the birth canal. (Imagine that ratio on a grown-up!) So how does a baby’s huge noggin make it through the birth canal? You can thank the fontanelles, or soft spots, on your newborn’s head.įontanelles are the membrane-covered gaps between several bony plates making up the skull. Several different factors can affect your baby’s head shape, which may appear cone-shaped, asymmetrical or have a flat spot on one side: BirthĪt birth, a baby’s head has an average circumference of 13.8 inches and makes up about a quarter of the length of his body. ![]() What causes changes to a baby’s head shape? ![]()
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