Infant head molding and reshaping

What is meant by infant head molding?

During the birth of the human fetus, the head of the fetus elongated a little due to the narrow pathway of the birth canal. This result in the disturbance of the shape of the newborn. As soon as you become a mother, your mother, mother-in-law, aunt, and every female relative will definitely give you one piece of advice and that is how to make the baby’s head.  These suggestions include pressing the baby’s head back and forth and placing cardboard, wood, a plate, or something hard under the baby’s head. Today we will discuss the proper way of reshaping the head and the serious consequences of abnormalities.

Duration required for skull reshaping:

It takes about 1 year to 1½ years to form a good head for a newborn. So this period is very critical for the infant head molding and reshaping.

Best ways to reshape the head of the newborn:

Then what should be done to make the head? First of all, the best answer is to let the child live in peace. In most cases, the heads of babies are reshaped by their own.   Don’t do anything.  Place the baby sometimes on his sides, on his tummy, and sometimes straight. Do not fix the head in one place so that it does not fall flat from any place and let the head bone take its original shape which is round. And if you have a baby with a very oblong head then consult with your doctor first and then apply any practice. Here are some points that are very useful suggestions for reshaping your infant skull. Head is easily reshaped by utilizing the following approaches.

• Use a very medicated pillow for your baby. Surely consult with your orthopedic consultant before using that pillow.  
• Give your baby regular tummy time. This will result in the strengthening of neck muscles as well as helpful in the reduction of flatness of the head.
• Hold your baby in your hands and place it in your lap more often.
• Change the position of the baby regularly during sleep.
• If all the practices are not working then used a molding helmet. These helmets are easily available from the medical markets. Make sure to consult with your orthopedic consultant.

Precautions:

• Avoid putting hard objects below the head of your baby.
• Don’t force the head with your hand or any other such practice.
• If you are using a reshaping helmet, don’t fasten it too tight.
• Don’t place your baby on a single side.

Consequences of ill practices of reshaping:

Sometimes the ill practices of an over-conscious parent result in severe abnormalities. Here are some important issues that result from the unhealthy handling of heads during molding.

• Flathead syndrome: In this case, the head will be straight from the back, and this is not normal at all.  This straightening of the head is called a flat head syndrome.  Which is an achievement for some mothers.  It is actually an abnormal condition.  Completely straightening one surface of the head and changing the bone structure is completely wrong.  In children with flat head syndrome following symptoms appear;
  • Fine motor skills
  • Language learning issue It doesn’t happen to everyone but it is possible and many such cases have been reported.
• Plagiocephaly: This is a condition that results when the infant’s soft skull becomes flat in one area by irregular positioning or putting excessive pressure. This will result in head deformations, which sometimes result in seizures.
• Brain damage: Sometimes ill practices of head molding results in damage to brain functions. This will result in mentally challenged children.