The baby may have a round head or a flat head. According to his or her head shape his or her need for a specific pillow differs. Anyway, having an appropriate pillow is really essential. Manufacturers believe these gadgets alleviate flat-head syndrome in infants. However, they are not necessary and even present some danger. When it comes to the guidelines for first-time parents, the most important one is that infants should always be placed to sleep on their backs on a flat, firm surface that is devoid of any soft bedding, pillows, or another padding. This piece of advice helps save lives: The number of cases of sudden infant death syndrome in the United States has decreased by fifty percent ever since 1994 when the American Academy of Pediatrics began its campaign encouraging parents to put their babies to sleep on their backs. However, the implementation of this safety tip may result in a consequence that worries a number of parents: Plagiocephaly, more often known as a flat-head syndrome, is a condition that can occur in infants if they spend a significant amount of time lying on their backs. This condition is medically referred to as "flat-head syndrome." 
Many businesses are now selling "head-shaping pillows" in response to this worry. These pillows are designed to prevent or ease the issue. We are aware that it is easy to feel confused by the many recommendations for treatments for the flat head syndrome, particularly with reference to the newborn head cushion, and we regret any trouble this may bring. As a parent, the safety of your child will always be your primary concern, and until we have more information, the potential drawbacks of using a cushion to treat flat head syndrome will always outweigh any potential advantages of doing so. Until we have more information, the potential drawbacks of using a cushion to treat flat head syndrome will always outweigh any potential advantages of doing so. Simply shifting your awake baby in different postures could frequently be all that is required to treat the moderate symptoms of the flat head syndrome. In the event, that by the time your child is between four and six months old this doesn't show any signs of progress, helmet therapy is a way of treating flat head syndrome that is risk-free, effective, and supported by scientific data. According to Ben Hoffman, MD, chairman of the AAP Council on Injury, Violence, and Poison Prevention, these devices, which are essentially a little cushion with an indent or a hole in the center, are unnecessary and even harmful. 
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that babies should sleep on their backs without any soft bedding; however, infant head-shaping pillows go against this recommendation. 'These items pose the same suffocation risk to your sleeping baby as does any other soft bedding, such as padded crib bumpers and blankets,' he says. 'These products pose the same suffocation risk to your sleeping baby as does any other soft bedding. Does the Condition Known as Flat-Head Syndrome Cause Any Problems? It is a fact that babies who spend a lot of time lying on their backs are more likely to develop a condition known as a "flat spot" on the back of their heads. Because the bones in a newborn's skull have not yet fused together, a newborn's skull is more malleable than the skulls of older children or adults, according to Elias B. Rizk, MD, chief of pediatric neurosurgery at Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, Pennsylvania. This is in contrast to the skulls of older children or adults. However, contrary to what some concerned parents may believe, the vast majority of occurrences of plagiocephaly are not only harmless but also self-limiting, and they do not result in long-term developmental problems. 
"[Flat-head syndrome] tends to improve with time," he said, explaining that this is because "they're moving more and sleeping less, so they have less pressure on their backside." Furthermore, according to Rizk, children who are born with moderate head malformations have a greater chance of outgrowing them as they become older. As they mature, their hair will begin to come in, and as they continue to grow taller, their head will appear to be smaller in comparison to the rest of their body. As a consequence of these alterations, the flat portions can now be ignored almost entirely without being noticed. Still, Concerned? Test Your Luck with These Strategies. Discuss your concerns with your child's pediatrician, who may recommend one or more of the following solutions depending on the severity of your situation. Make sure that your infant has lots of time spent on her stomach under your supervision so that she is not always lying on her back, even when she is awake. Put your infant to sleep in a variety of positions within the crib over the course of a week so that she does not always face the same direction and have the same pressure applied to the same part of the back of her head. 
If your baby's crib has a mobile, you should rotate it at regular intervals so that it may be seen from different angles by your child. This will encourage your child to turn their head in different directions. Regularly switch where you stand when changing your baby’s diaper so that he won’t have to turn to only one side in order to look at you. When you are feeding your baby, try holding her in a variety of positions so that her head is not always forced down in the same place. Reduce the amount of time your child spends in stationary objects like car seats, bouncers, swings, and other carriers. These items can restrict your child's head movement and put pressure on the same areas of the head as are affected when the child is lying flat. Talk to your child's pediatrician about safe neck stretches that you can do with your infant. Plagiocephaly is frequently associated with torticollis, a disorder in which the neck becomes rigid. The more your infant looks in one direction, the more the neck muscles tense on that side. 
Therefore, stretching the muscles in your infant's neck might induce increased head mobility, which in turn provides the potential for growth and expansion in the flat portions of the head. Should we instead make use of helmets that can be molded to the shape of the head? If a mild to severe flat region continues after these procedures have been performed for four to eight weeks, some doctors may recommend that you have your newborn wear a head-shaping helmet before the skull bones have completely fused. This would be done before the skull bones have completely fused. The typical age at which a helmet should be recommended is somewhere around six months. The helmet encourages development in the flat region of the skull while restraining it in other areas of the head. In addition, taking this path results in a significant amount of effort for families. According to Rizk, infants "had to wear the helmet 23 hours per day for several months sometimes," and children "may need to see an orthotic specialist once a week" to accommodate for their rapid head growth during this time period. 
This was done to accommodate for the fact that infants "had to wear the helmet 23 hours per day for several months sometimes." It's possible that the costs will build up fast. Rizk claims that helmets can cost several thousand dollars, which is why many insurance companies refuse to pay for them. Although it is possible to purchase helmets directly from some manufacturers, such as Rizk, he does not recommend doing so. He explains, "We wouldn't recommend acquiring a helmet unless it was prescribed, custom-made, and closely followed in the office because every skull is different and the timing of the child's head growth can vary. " This is due to the fact that every skull is different and the timing of the child's head growth can vary. However, there is still a degree of uncertainty over whether or not even the very best helmets that are manufactured to order are superior to taking no action at all. Rizk goes on to say that when it comes to cases that are mild to moderate, "if you look five years out, there's not much of a difference between these two groups." You would be mistaken if you believed that Grandma was onto something when she suggested that you stroke the baby's head frequently in order to soften the skull. Even though he concedes that gently touching a baby won't cause any harm, Rizk asserts, "I don't see any scientific reason massage on the exterior of the skull." There is a low probability that this will impair the growth and development of the skull.
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