Guest guest Posted February 24, 2001 Report Share Posted February 24, 2001 Tim, I just wanted to welcome you to the board! Folks, we are truly lucky to have Tim here! Sincerely, Jaya Dong www.caps2000.org > > what makes some kids prone to plagio and not others. It's not like > > Genna spent the first months of her life laying on her back 24/7 > > (although she has always hated being on her tummy for some reason, > > she was held alot and I even had her nap in a sling on my hip lots > of > > times so she could be upright). I'm sure there are babies that > spent > > far more time on their backs that have round heads. > > > > My sister's kids pretty much lived in their carriers and their > heads > > were always nice and round. > > > > Could it be because she was born at 36w and her skull was more > > malleable? > > Today many people will cite back sleeping as the cause of positional > plagiocephaly, yet in reality there are a number of different > factors. Many of the children we treat have a combination of these > risk factors, including: > > Back Sleeping: The bedding we use today is much firmer, and we are > advised not to place soft items such as pillows or toys in the crib > with the child. Until recently, very little information was provided > to parents about the importance of supervised tummy time, so even > when the children were awake, they often spent much of their time on > their back on the floor, or in a swing, car seat, or infant carrier. > Although little attention has been paid to car seats and swings, the > surfaces are quite hard and we have treated many children whose > deformities have been traced to spending extended periods of time, > including sleeping in them, for several months. Back sleeping can > also allow a very mild torticollis (see below) to deform the head as > it will pull the head into the same position against the mattress > every night. > > Torticollis: Often referred to as wry-neck, in essence it means that > the child has a stiff neck that causes them to have a very noticeable > head tilt and favor turning to one direction. Once a proper > diagnosis is made, neck stretching exercises often resolve the > problem, however " tough-love " on the parent's part is required - in > most cases the child will not like the exercises, but they need to be > done. > > In Utero Constraint - This was often felt to be the number 1 risk > factor for plagiocephaly prior to 1992 (When the 'Back to Sleep' > campaign began). An infant's head can become deformed in utero by > becoming engaged in pelvis, or if the child is in a breech > orientation, by becoming wedged under the ribs. In the later case, > the head will take on a long and narrow shape (scaphocephalic), often > with a ledge or prominence at the very back. Sometimes the in utero > restriction does not deform the head directly, but does cause the > development of a torticollis as discussed above. > > Prematurity - As stated in the earlier post, an infant's cranium > becomes much more rigid during the later part of pregnancy. In fact, > the fetal cranial bones increase in stiffness tenfold during the last > 10 weeks of pregnancy. Thus, if a child is born premature, his or > her head is much more malleable than a child delivered full term. > However, there is more to consider - Premature infants often spend > more time in the NICU where their heads are rotated side-to-side. > This can also cause a long, narrow head shape as discussed earlier. > Premature infants also often lag behind in terms of developmental > milestones which may not allow them to reposition their heads as > easily as full term children. > > Multiple-Births. My personal favorite (being an identical twin > myself). We have completed several papers that have documented that > multiple birth infants (twins, triplets, and higher) are > significantly more likely to develop plagiocephaly than their > singleton counterparts. From the discussion above, you've probably > guessed why - they have in utero constraint, are often premature, > often spend extended periods of time in the NICU as well as have some > developmental delays, sleep on their back, and have a higher > incidence of torticollis. > > While these are not all of the factors, they are the most prevalent. > How other factors, such as genetics, racial ancestry, and gender, > contribute to the development of plagiocephaly remains unclear. > > > > Sincerely, > Tim Littlefield > Cranial Technologies, Inc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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