Does the headband is REALLY necessary ?

[Guest guest]

Hi,

My baby started with the headshape problem since he was 4months old.

The problem is that he sucks his thumb to sleep and therefore he has

the right side kind of flat. The pediatrician recommended putting a

blanket on that side to reshape the head. Now my baby is 6months old

and has had some improvement, but the doctor sent us to a specialist.

The specialist told us he had 16 'points'. The pediatrician says is

just a cosmetic procedure and that we decide if we want to proceed with

the headband, since insurances will not cover it. What happened in the

past when this didn't exist? Is it really just cosmetic? meaning that

if we don't use the band and our baby grows his hair later it will not

be noticeable and there will be no problem at all..

Your comments will be highly appreciated!!

thanks!

Yunuen

[Guest guest]

I don't know what 16 'points' means...is that 16mm assymetry? If

so, I would definitely band. The whole topic of cosmetic or not is

very controversial. Here is why we banded...I didn't want to have

regrets later with the following possibilities...TMJ, headaches,

hearing issues, vision issues, teasing, etc. If you aren't happy

with your child's headshape then I would definitely consider banding

as I don't believe it will round out on its own and 6 months is a

great age. We banded at 7.5 months and our son only had to wear the

band 2 months. He is now 18.5 months old and his head looks great.

Even if hair covers the plagio, I still wanted to correct the issue.

>

> Hi,

>

> My baby started with the headshape problem since he was 4months

old.

> The problem is that he sucks his thumb to sleep and therefore he

has

> the right side kind of flat. The pediatrician recommended putting

a

> blanket on that side to reshape the head. Now my baby is 6months

old

> and has had some improvement, but the doctor sent us to a

specialist.

> The specialist told us he had 16 'points'. The pediatrician says

is

> just a cosmetic procedure and that we decide if we want to proceed

with

> the headband, since insurances will not cover it. What happened in

the

> past when this didn't exist? Is it really just cosmetic? meaning

that

> if we don't use the band and our baby grows his hair later it will

not

> be noticeable and there will be no problem at all..

>

> Your comments will be highly appreciated!!

>

> thanks!

> Yunuen

>

[Guest guest]

A few more things...we were told UHC never pays...we were reimbursed

80% so if you can afford to pay out of pocket then appeal that is

what I would do (and did do). A lot of people are told their

insurance won't pay but many do with an appeal...you just have to

know your policy and what should and shouldn't be covered. I also

specifically asked my ped. about hair covering plagio...he said that

while it may cover the plagio we need to correct the plagio so we

don't have other issues. Some doctors are a lot more " pro-banding "

than others. Most babies adjust just fine...our son was the same

happy baby the entire time banded. I will band again if our next

baby (due in about 6 weeks) has plagio.

> >

> > Hi,

> >

> > My baby started with the headshape problem since he was 4months

> old.

> > The problem is that he sucks his thumb to sleep and therefore he

> has

> > the right side kind of flat. The pediatrician recommended

putting

> a

> > blanket on that side to reshape the head. Now my baby is 6months

> old

> > and has had some improvement, but the doctor sent us to a

> specialist.

> > The specialist told us he had 16 'points'. The pediatrician says

> is

> > just a cosmetic procedure and that we decide if we want to

proceed

> with

> > the headband, since insurances will not cover it. What happened

in

> the

> > past when this didn't exist? Is it really just cosmetic? meaning

> that

> > if we don't use the band and our baby grows his hair later it

will

> not

> > be noticeable and there will be no problem at all..

> >

> > Your comments will be highly appreciated!!

> >

> > thanks!

> > Yunuen

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks so much for your feedback!! Certainly it's 16mm (I wrote

points since I didn't remember that detail ) It's great to read

about other people's experiences, that helps a lot.

we are going to check with our pediatrician about the information

that the STARband office sent and hopefully we'll be able to cover

the cost of the headband and see if we can claim it later.

Thanks again for the info!

Yunuen

> > >

> > > Hi,

> > >

> > > My baby started with the headshape problem since he was 4months

> > old.

> > > The problem is that he sucks his thumb to sleep and therefore

he

> > has

> > > the right side kind of flat. The pediatrician recommended

> putting

> > a

> > > blanket on that side to reshape the head. Now my baby is

6months

> > old

> > > and has had some improvement, but the doctor sent us to a

> > specialist.

> > > The specialist told us he had 16 'points'. The pediatrician

says

> > is

> > > just a cosmetic procedure and that we decide if we want to

> proceed

> > with

> > > the headband, since insurances will not cover it. What happened

> in

> > the

> > > past when this didn't exist? Is it really just cosmetic?

meaning

> > that

> > > if we don't use the band and our baby grows his hair later it

> will

> > not

> > > be noticeable and there will be no problem at all..

> > >

> > > Your comments will be highly appreciated!!

> > >

> > > thanks!

> > > Yunuen

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Hello and welcome. I'm also guessing you mean 16 mm of asymmetry - you

should check with the doc, but if this is the case I would definitely

band. one reason this didn't happen before is that until about

10-15years ago most babies slept on their tummies. Plagio has

increased dramatically since the back-to-sleep campaign. Also kids now

spend a lot of time in bouncers, swings, carseats and other things

that put pressure on their heads.

I don't consider banding to be cosmetic, and I would appeal your

insurance if it isn't covered. They may not pay, but many parents win

on appeal.

Good luck with the decision.

-christine

sydney 2 yrs starband grad

>

> Hi,

>

> My baby started with the headshape problem since he was 4months old.

> The problem is that he sucks his thumb to sleep and therefore he has

> the right side kind of flat. The pediatrician recommended putting a

> blanket on that side to reshape the head. Now my baby is 6months old

> and has had some improvement, but the doctor sent us to a specialist.

> The specialist told us he had 16 'points'. The pediatrician says is

> just a cosmetic procedure and that we decide if we want to proceed with

> the headband, since insurances will not cover it. What happened in the

> past when this didn't exist? Is it really just cosmetic? meaning that

> if we don't use the band and our baby grows his hair later it will not

> be noticeable and there will be no problem at all..

>

> Your comments will be highly appreciated!!

>

> thanks!

> Yunuen

>