5 Tips on Flat Head Syndrome

Last updated on December 9th, 2024 at 11:28 pm

Have you heard of flat head syndrome? Having children has opened up my eyes on so many different things I was blind to before I had children. Like tummy time?! I had no idea what it was until I heard moms on birth boards showing pictures of their tummy time mats that they had purchased. Off to my friend Google I went and found out the benefits of of tummy time and one of them was to prevent plagiocephaly… what?!

Plagiocephaly is also known as flat head syndrome. After my twins were born and we were doing everything to prevent this, my husband and I noticed that one of our daughters had what appeared to have a flat spot on the back of her head.

I brought this up at a well check and we were referred to a company that specializes in correcting this issue. After our evaluation, we had to take the steps forward for her treatment, and that alone had increased my knowledge of plagiocephaly and how people don’t know about it.

5 things you should know about flat head syndrome:

1. Flat head syndrome causes can sometimes be prevented, but it’s not your fault if your child develops it.

Flat head syndrome can be caused by how a baby is positioned in the womb or by how they are sleeping or sitting in the early months while their skull is still forming.

I had been watching how I put her to sleep. But regardless of how I positioned her, she always went to her “sweet spot.” This happened to be where she was developing her flat spot. Even after repositioning her after she fell asleep, she would somehow manage to get back to that spot.

I also pushed tummy time. As I mentioned earlier, tummy time helps infants develop neck muscles and also keeps babies off that spot. Unfortunately, this had not worked for us and we went on to seek help.

2. Flat head syndrome treatment goes by quicker earlier on in infancy.

Treatment goes by very quickly–especially if you catch the symptoms of flat head syndrome early!

My daughter was diagnosed a little later due to our pediatrician wanting to wait to see if it corrected itself. She started treatment at 9 months old, and it took just over 8 weeks. After that, she was done. Children who get treatment earlier in life can finish treatment in a quicker time frame.

Here’s what the “treatment” entailed. My daughter had to wear her band, also known as a helmet, for 23 hours a day. One hour a day became bath time, scratch her head time, and clean the band time. Yes these things do get very smelly. They hold in 23 hours’ worth of sweat and smell (yuck!). Those one hour windows were hilarious though. She would spend a lot of time scratching her head. I mean imagine not being able to scratch or even just feel your head all day. How unpleasant!?

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3. Flathead syndrome awareness is minimal–so be aware!

Feel free to educate the people who stare. I know with twins you get the people who stare and then the people who come up to you and start talking. Add on something that makes a child not appear “normal,” and you get even more strangers looking at you.

The day my daughter got her band, I went to the bank and some stranger came up to me and said, “Oh, you got a helmet for her ’cause she runs into stuff? That’s smart. I need to do that for my child.” With it all being so new to me, I was scared to respond in that moment.

About a week later though, I heard the comment again. That time, I told the truth: “My daughter has a flat spot on her head we are trying to correct.” I felt so much better knowing I told the real reason behind it. Some people had no idea and were thankful of being taught. I had numerous parents come up to me and tell me how their child needed one and how they had to do the same thing. It was affirmation that we had made a good choice, and it put my mind to ease. Even though it’s not that uncommon, many people simply don’t know about what flat head syndrome entails.

4. Make the helmet your own!

You can decorate your flat head syndrome band so it doesn’t look so “medical.” I found several businesses online that do this as well as ideas for some DIY-decorations. We bought a big purple flower hair clip that I fastened on with Velcro while my husband and I decided on a design.

I am VERY thankful for a local car wrapping place that designed, made, and applied wraps to these bands at no cost to parents. The day we came home with her band all wrapped up, it matched her and her personality, and it made the band hers.

5. Use the treatment as a chance for one on one time.

One silver lining of this whole experience was that it forced me to make one on one time. I know it can be hard to figure out one on one time with multiples, but this was how I had started it with my daughters. We were lucky to have the opportunity to have family watch our other twin daughter while we had doctor visits and check-ups. I know it’s not an option for a lot of families, but if you can, try doing it.

I had both my daughters with me for the first 9 months of their lives, and these doctor visits let me see the true personality difference between the two. Sometimes, I would stop and grab a snack before or after an appointment just to hang out a little longer just the two of us. Because of the appointments, I would then make special time to spend time with the other twin.

Our short yet eventful journey during my daughter’s treatment opened my eyes to something I did not know prior to having kids. I always love telling parents I see with kids who have bands that we had one as well. I know I appreciated the support when my daughter was in treatment. It’s like when you see a twin parent with twins younger than yours, and you give them an “it gets better” look: the feeling is exactly like that.

Robyn is currently a stay at home mom to her 4 year old fraternal twin daughters, Kayden and Kaylee, and wife to her husband, Roy. She is currently pursuing her career in the medical field. Click here to read more of Robyn’s articles on Twiniversity.