

Laughlin suggests laying them down in a different way when they're awake, so they have something interesting to look at on the opposite side. – Some babies prefer to hold their head to one side. They say this change will encourage the baby to turn his or her head in different directions to avoid resting in the same position all the time. – The NIH recommends changing the direction your baby lies in the crib each week. It has also been shown to "enhance motor developmental scores," according to this new report. This will help develop neck and shoulder muscles, says Laughlin. A baby should spend at least 30 to 60 minutes a day on it's belly, something that can be done immediately after birth. – Increase "tummy" time, which is supervised time during the day when baby lies on its stomach. There are simple steps parents can take to prevent flat spots, and they can also be used to minimize the progression if a positional skull deformity has already developed: Surgery should only be considered when all other options have been exhausted, and after consulting with a surgeon who specializes in these types of cases. "There is currently no evidence that molding helmets work any better than positioning for infants with mild or moderate skull deformity," according to the report. Only if the flattening of the head worsens by the time baby is 6 months old and the infant has serious flat spots should head-molding helmets be considered, according to the new guidelines. Until a baby is one year old, doctors should also screen for skull deformities at every wellness visit.
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The new report, published in the journal Pediatrics on Monday, suggests that pediatricians should counsel new parents about how to avoid flat head syndrome when they bring their newborns in for their check-ups in the first 2 to 4 weeks of life. Asymmetry of the skull when caused by positional molding doesn't cause developmental delays, says Laughlin. The AAP and NIH caution that even though having your baby sleep on its back can lead to a flattened head, parents should not stop placing babies on their backs to sleep. If the baby's head always rests on the same spot, the skull plates move in a way that leaves a flat spot, according to the NIH. In between these plates are spaces, which allow the skull to expand so that the brain can grow. Their skulls are soft and made up of movable plates (which are necessary for baby to make it through the birth canal). Most babies' heads are slightly asymmetrical. The longer they do that during the first 2 to 4 months of life, the more likely they are to develop a flattening of the head, says Laughlin, who is the lead author of a new report designed to provide guidance for pediatricians to help prevent, diagnose and manage positional skull deformities in otherwise healthy children. James Laughlin, "that leads to some positional flattening or molding of the head, depending on how the baby sleeps." " spend almost all their time on their back," says pediatrician Dr. About 13% of healthy infants have some form of positional plagiocephaly (which means "oblique head" in Greek). However, as the number of SIDS deaths have gone down, pediatricians have seen a dramatic increase in babies having flat head syndrome. Since 1992, when the American Academy of Pediatricsbegan recommending that babies sleep on their backs, the number of deaths due to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or SIDS - the number one cause of death among infants younger than 1 year of age - has been cut in half, according to the CDC.
