It has been published that plagiocephaly is accompanied by a very high percentage, over 40%, of motor delays, and a lower percentage of cognitive delays . 
The most common cognitive delays are in the area of language and communicative expression. Since children begin to express themselves verbally between 12 and 24 months in a more or less comprehensible way, when a language delay is detected, for example at 18 months, it is too late to receive orthopedic treatment at a good age (between 3 and 12 months is the best age for successful treatment).

After 3 months, treatment with a dynamic cranial orthosis is the best option to recover the lost shape of the skull. In many cases of plagiocephaly, neck physiotherapy is also part of the treatment, and parental involvement in changing head position and improving neck mobility is essential.

Just as the baby’s deformed skull due to the mechanism of birth recovers spontaneously in a few days or weeks, when the baby is older than 3 or 4 months, this ability to recover diminishes greatly or completely. Therefore, it is a mistake to assume that over time the head will improve on its own, just as it is a mistake to think that a dental malposition or scoliosis can be repaired without any external orthopedic help.

The deformity should not be repaired before the first year of life. Otherwise, it can reach school age and affect their functioning, social life and self-esteem.

Any medical doctor, whether a family physician, pediatrician or specialist, has the right to prescribe or refer an infant with plagiocephaly directly to any other health professional he/she considers more appropriate for cranial orthopedic treatment.

The most accessible health professional, usually the family physician, pediatrician or physiotherapist.

Plagiocephaly is so common and so closely related to sleeping on the back to prevent sudden death that it is best to consult a pediatrician first. If you cannot find a solution or a plausible explanation, consult your neurosurgeon.

Specialists should be consulted when the baby is older than 3 months and the flatness persists, when the face is asymmetrical, the forehead on one side is more forward or the ear on the flat side is later than on the other side. Also when the head grows in profile view or the head appears wider than normal.

When, despite the change in the way the baby sleeps and rests, the shape of the head does not improve, when torticollis persists, when an asymmetry of the face appears, when the head is wider or higher than normal, and especially when the baby is more than 3 months old.

The head is not and should not be round like a circle, it should be oval (the oval comes from the egg). If your baby’s head is completely or partially round, your baby may have brachycephaly or asymmetrical plagiocephaly.

Because most likely, as a child, you slept for many hours at a time in the same area of your head.

There may be several reasons. Probably because your baby always sleeps in the same position, back to the head and facing upwards. Change the position, sometimes to one side, sometimes to the other, put your child on the floor when he is not sleeping, during the day and under his supervision.

Just as the baby’s deformed skull due to the mechanism of birth recovers spontaneously in a few days or weeks, when the baby is older than 3 or 4 months, this ability to recover diminishes greatly or completely. Therefore, it is a mistake to assume that over time the head will improve on its own, just as it is a mistake to think that a dental malposition or scoliosis can be repaired without any external orthopedic help.

If less than 3 months old, with the substitution technique or with special pillows, if more than 3 months old with a dynamic cranial orthosis. If you wish to use a pillow, we can provide references.

Yes, the baby’s head is very tender and sensitive to continuous pressure in a specific area, always the same. In the past, many cultures, such as those of North, Central and South America, Egypt, or even in 19th century France (
Toulousse deformation
), practiced an active and deliberate deformation of the skull for class aesthetics and social effect.

Neither the infant’s nor the adult’s head is round, oval and symmetrical. Having a round head like a ball is not a sign of having a normal head, it is a sign of having positional brachycephaly.

In adulthood, this is not possible with orthopedic methods, only with surgery. If the infant is between 3 and 18 months old, treatment with a dynamic cranial orthosis may improve.

Our team of cranial deformity and malformation specialists can help you with your comments or a photo of your baby’s problem.

Plagiocephaly and brachycephaly, in addition to disfiguring the normal shape of the head and face, cause a distortion of the shape and internal spaces of the skull, diminishing the pits or cavities where the frontal, temporal and occipital lobes of the brain rest. In addition, the subarachnoid space is decreased and cerebrospinal fluid cannot circulate normally between the depressed part of the skull and the underlying brain. Because of these combined effects, the infant’s brain, which is growing and maturing at the same time, receives excessive pressure (offset by the open fountains), which interferes with the normal growth process and increases as the fountains close.

4 months of treatment on average (5 weeks and 6 months). Between 3 and 6 months, the treatment lasts between 5 and 12 weeks.

With DOC Band® we can treat patients up to 2 years of age.

It’s not just about rounding the head. DOC Band® has been shown in scientific articles to respect the anthropometric proportions of the head, does not interfere with natural growth, maintains its results over time and does not produce functional changes.

DOC Band® is comfortable and lightweight, patients adapt from day one. The incidence of skin problems is less than 5%.

Run the DOC Band® helmet 23 hours a day:

– Babies < 5 months: changes may be visible during the first week.

– Infants < 12 months: changes may be visible during the first two weeks.

– Infants under 24 months: changes may be visible during the first 2-3 weeks.

This varies for each baby, but a 5-6 month old baby should already be able to turn completely on his or her own without assistance.

The baby’s head acts as a water balloon, depending on how it is positioned. Especially during the day, it is very important to distribute the weight of the head, trying not to support the baby in the same area all the time. We have a 180-degree arc of possibilities that help prevent pressure on a particular point, which may otherwise give way and begin to sink. And when the head sinks and deforms and compensatory deformities occur, there is usually no turning back.