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All About Positional Plagiocephaly! |
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THIS SITE IS NOT INTENDED TO REPLACE ANY MEDICAL ADVICE. SPEAK TO YOUR DOCTOR IF YOU HAVE ANY CONCERNS |
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What is Plagiocephaly: This a condition that means misshapened head. |
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How can this be prevented?
Tummy time, tummy time, tummy time..
Supervised tummy time is the key. Keeping the baby off the skull during times of play can help to prevent plagio. It strengthens the babys neck muscles
Frequently repositioning the childs head is also a good preventative. Switching the way you lay the baby in bed and when carrying the infant is also a good idea. Click here for a site on prevention. |
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There are 3 Types of plagiocephaly.
The first is just that, Plagiocephaly. This is when one of the babys sides of its head is flat.
The second is brachycephaly. This is when the back of the babys head becomes flat.
The third is scaphocephaly. this is when the head takes on a long and narrow shape. |
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What causes this?
There are many factors that can lead to plagio. One cause is intrauterine constraint. The baby may not have enough room due to size or due to multiples.
Another is torticollis. This is when the neck muscles become tight and cause the child to tilt his/her head. Not all children who have plagio have tort.I must say that i am not familiar with tort because my son did not have it. HOwever many children do. The main sigh is the childs tendency to tilt its head to one side. If you are concernend about tort, talk to your doctor. For a great site on tort click here.
Premature babies also have a risk because of prolonged hospital stay.
Since the back to sleep campaing, plagio has been increasing. The risk of sids has lead to this campaign. However we are not informed sometimes that tummy time when awake is a great benefit for the childs head.
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How is Plagio treated:
There are a few different ways to treat plagiocephaly. The first way is to reposition your infant. If plagio is detected early on this is a great place to start. Switching ways the baby lays in its crib and requently rotating the childs head is a few options.
If this doesn't work another option is banding. There are a few different types of bands. One is the DOCband. It was the first to get the FDA approval and has set the standard for all others. We used the DOCband becasue that was what is offered in our area.
Different areas offer different bnds and also helmets. If you have any questions how any of them work, you should contact the manufacture to find out more. |
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please know that this is not your fault. Many people feel that way and it is completely normal. All i can say is go with what feels right and get all the information you can get. |
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Our Story |
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Tucker was born on December 13th of 2000. He was a healthy 6lbs and 7oz. He was 19 inches long. Before Tucker was born the doctor was worried that Tucker didn't have enough room to grow and thought that Tuckers' head was growing more than his body. After delivery we noticed that there was a slight flattening on his right side. the Dr said not to worry because it was from the birthing process. At Tuckers 2 mnth check up it was slightly more flat but the dr wasn't concerned and neither was I. If the dr doesn't think there is a problem why should I. The family told me I should check into it more but I kept saying dr knows best. At Tuckers 4 month check up the same happened . The doctor said when Tucker started crawling or rolling over it would round out. Finally at Tuckers 6 mnth check up the dr decided that if i wanted to he would refer me to a specialist. We couldn't get in for another 2 months. During this time I tried to keep Tucker off that spot, but it was hard. When Tucker was 8 months old he was seen and we were told that it was plagio and that he was a great candidate for the DOCband. WE were then sent for the casting. It is a process whee\re the child goes in and a mold is made of their head. This is the same process that they use as if you have broken an arm. It does frighten the child because they don't like to be held down but it does not hurt the child. It is over very fast. Then it is sent off and the mold is used to see how to make the band. 2 weeks later you have the band. Then started the weekly visits to make sure it was working and to trim it if needed. Slowly we went to every 2 weeks and then 3 weeks. This lasted for about 6 months until Tucker Graduated. He got a 75-80% correction, He is still flat on the right side, but not as bad. Tucker was banded 8-23-01 and graduated 3-6-02. I say that getting the DOCband was a great choice for us. I only wish we could have gotten it earlier. |
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I would like to thank all visitors to this page and say way to go to each and every one of you for taking the step towards a rounder head. Feel free to sign our guestbook, share your story and email us if you'd like to |
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site about plagio and the DOCband |
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