More Babies Today Have Irregular Head Shape: Expert

April 28th, 2012

FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda

FRIDAY, April 27 (HealthDay News) — The incidence of babies with
irregular head shapes, such as a flattened section in the back of the
skull, have increased in the United States since the Back to Sleep
campaign was introduced in 1994 to prevent sudden infant death syndrome,
an expert says.

“There’s no doubt that as we as a country began putting babies to sleep
on their backs, the incidence of [sudden infant death syndrome] declined
significantly,” Dr. Sherilyn Driscoll, director of pediatric
rehabilitation medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., said in a
Mayo news release. “Simultaneously, the incidence of positional
plagiocephaly, or head-shape asymmetry caused by babies’ sleeping
position, increased.”

Driscoll said head-shape asymmetries generally are easy to treat but
timing is crucial. Treatment must take place while the skull is still
growing and before the skull bones have fused and soft spots have
closed.

Head-shape asymmetry should be treated as soon as it’s noticed. One
method, called repositioning, involves supervised tummy time for babies
when they’re awake or showing them toys and encouraging them to turn to
either side, Driscoll said.

If this approach doesn’t work, helmeting therapy can help skull bones
grow in the proper direction. The helmets do not press on or reshape
babies’ skulls, Driscoll said in the release. Helmeting therapy is most
effective when it begins at 4 months to 6 months of age. By the time a
baby reaches a year old, only minimal correction of head shape can be
achieved.

Parents who notice a head-shape asymmetry in an infant younger than 4
months can meet with a specialist to discuss ways to reposition infants —
in car seats for example — and strategies to encourage infants to turn
their head toward the less flattened side, Driscoll said.

She also stressed that a baby with a head shape asymmetry needs to be
seen by a specialist who can determine if the shape is due to the baby’s
sleeping position or some other cause.

“There are a few less-common conditions of greater concern, such as
craniosyntosis, that can cause a head-shape asymmetry, and those need to
be ruled out first,” Driscoll said.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development has
more about head asymmetry in infants.