Misshapen heads

Approximately one third of osteopathic consultation for babies is for misshapen heads - (plagiocephaly). The head may be flat at the back or on one side.  This occurs early on in the baby’s development and may be present from before birth.

Reasons for the shape change to take place are:
• The baby is held in a fixed position in utero – under the mothers ribs for example and growth is thereby restricted to the shape available
• When there is a family history
• The baby has a strain in its neck and is unable to turn its head equally both ways.

This results in the baby’s head lying on one side most of the time causing a flattening on that side. Early osteopathic intervention to free the neck will allow the baby to sleep on both sides and the shape will revert back to normal. It is important to seek treatment as soon as the flattening is noticed as treatment started after four months is not as successful and does take longer to achieve results.