Spotting Early Signs Of A Misshapen Baby HeadĮarly detection increases the chances of successful outcomes with non-invasive treatment, so keep an eye out for these telltale signs of cranial abnormalities:

Craniosynostosis is a congenital condition where a baby’s skull plates fuse prematurely, leading to an unusual head shape as the brain continues to grow and push against the skull.

If the growth of your child’s head is restricted during pregnancy, this may affect skull development outside the womb as the baby grows.

Narrow space in the womb is another common cause of uneven heads in babies.

Premature birth is also a leading contributor to a flattened back or side of the head (plagiocephaly) because a younger baby has a softer head which is more prone to becoming misshapen.

It’s one of the reasons why pediatricians recommend introducing “tummy time” as early as possible and encourage parents to try out different head positions from a young age.

Your infant spending too much time lying on its back is a leading cause of babies’ heads becoming flattened (brachycephaly).

If your baby’s head shape is concerning you, there are several factors that affect skull development: More often than not, what worries you one day will be resolved entirely the next – but it’s worthwhile to have a basic understanding of some of the possible causes of cranial abnormalities. Cranial deformities typically show up in the window of approximately three months to one and a half years old.īaby’s heads come in all shapes and sizes, and things like soft spots are often simply due to a skull that is still in the process of developing. When do Cranial Deformities happen?īaby’s heads are soft at birth and not fully formed until around eighteen months old. In this blog, we take a look at what constitutes a standard infant head shape versus an abnormal one and what your options are if your baby needs medical intervention for any skull deformities. If you suspect your baby has an uneven head shape, you’ll want to know as early as possible whether or not it’s a serious condition that requires further attention.

If your child has certain types of craniosynostosis, surgery cannot always fully correct the shape of their head and they may need ongoing care.Babies Head Shape: What To Know And When To Worryīeing on the lookout for health issues in your infant is all part and parcel of parenting, but it’s challenging to know what normal child development looks like without worrying too much. These may be every few weeks at first but will become less frequent as they get older. Your child will have regular check-ups to see how they're doing.

They may have a scar across the top of their head if they had surgery, but this will be hidden by their hair. Most children do not have any lasting health problems. Your child may need to stay in hospital for up to a week afterwards. It's done under general anaesthetic (they're asleep). Surgery usually involves making a cut across the top of your child's head, removing and reshaping the affected parts of their skull, and then fixing them back in place. it's also affecting their face and causing problems like breathing difficulties.your child has symptoms caused by pressure on their brain, such as headaches.it's likely to affect how your child's brain grows or lead to problems like low self-esteem as they get older.Your child may just have regular check-ups to monitor it. Treatment for craniosynostosisĬraniosynostosis does not always need to be treated. The charity Headlines has more information about the main syndromes linked to syndromic synostosis. Table describing 5 different types of craniosynostosis and how they affect the head TypeĪffects the top of the head, causing it to become long and narrowĪffects the side of the head, causing the forehead to be flattened on one sideĪffects the forehead, causing it to become pointy or triangularĪffects the back of the head, causing it to become flattened on 1 sideĪffects more than 1 part of the head and can affect other parts of the body caused by an underlying genetic condition (syndrome)

Babies head shapes when to worry