BBC Discusses Baby Helmets

The BBC has been discussiong flat head syndrome and the growing use of corrective helmets, asking "should you be worried about the shape of your baby's head? Lots of parents are. Dr Margaret McCartney questions the growing trend for corrective helmets to treat so called 'flat head syndrome'.  

There was an interesting discussion on the show on 25th September, in which helmet clinics were criticised for overly alarming parents about the condition and the doctors being interviewed claimed that the success rate of helmets is difficult to assess as there is no way of knowing what your child's head would have been like had the helmet not been used and whether the child's head would have corrected naturally. Whilst this is true in respect of the particular child who has had helmet therapy, it is a fact that there is an increasing number of children who have undergone helmet therapy and had amazing results.  I have also read countless reports from guilt ridden parents who decided, often on the advice of their doctor or specialist, to leave their child's head to "round out by itself" only to find that the flatness remained or only improved very slightly.  Personally I have found very few comments from parents who chose to go the helmet route and were disappointed.  

As a parent we do everything we can to protect and help our children and I think it is certainly worth at least exploring every available treatment should your child's flatness be severe, especially given the mounting positive reviews from parents who took the decision for their child to have a helmet fitted.

What was good to hear, was that the doctors on the show recommended the use of flat head pillows as a means of helping to prevent baby flat head, something which this website has always encouraged.

If your child has suffered from positional plagiocephaly I would love to hear from you about your experience and whether the flatness corrected, with or without the use of a helmet.

 

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