10 Ways to Avoid the Baby Helmet
Disclaimer: If your baby is under the care of a physical therapist, do the exercises they have prescribed for you. You may ask them about the suggestions in this post, but do not do these unless cleared by your provider.
Your newborn is home and everything in your life is topsy turvy. Lack of sleep combined with meeting the constant demands of your precious baby leaves you with little time to worry about things like avoiding a baby helmet.
But you should think about it. Because the best strategy to avoid one is prevention.
Baby Helmet: What and Why
A helmet is a custom-fitted plastic orthosis designed to reshape a head that has flat spots or is misshapen. While they are effective, they are expensive and must be worn twenty-three hours a day for many months.
Some babies are born with a misshapen head and others develop one later. Either way, the cause is often prolonged pressure on the soft skull bones. It is quite common in preemies, multiples (twins or greater), or late-term heavier babies.
Preemies are at risk because their skull bones are even softer than a those of a full term baby. Plus, they often require long-term positioning for medical procedures while in the hospital.
Multiples and late-term babies are often pressed up against mom’s pelvic bone or against each other for long periods while in utero. That pressure flattens the skull.
The medical term for flat spots on the skull due to prolonged pressure is positional plagiocephaly. Prolonged pressure against the soft bones of the baby’s skull causes the deformation.
Whether your baby was born with flat spots or not, all infants are at risk for developing them. The tips offered below will work for both groups.
10 Ways to Avoid a Baby Helmet
- Early awareness of the problem—Being aware of the danger of flat spots developing on your baby’s head is the first step. The next steps are to take the actions listed below.
- Check for neck tightness—Some babies are born with a crooked neck (aka torticollis). The neck muscles may have become tight and shortened while in the womb. This often occurs in pregnancies of multiples. However, some tightness can also develop when your baby’s neck muscles are strained during the birthing process. Painful muscle spasms develop and your baby will get into a comfortable position and remain there so they don’t hurt. Staying in a position for a long time allows muscle tightness to occur. Muscle tightness and pain limit the positions your baby can place their head. Limited positions often lead to your baby lying in one spot most of the time. Here’s a video on how to check if your baby’s neck is tight. If it is, continue to implement the following steps. If your baby seems to be in pain or significant distress when placed in different positions, contact your child’s doctor.
- Alternate your baby’s feeding positions—Sometimes hold them with your left arm and other times hold them with your right. If you are breastfeeding, this usually occurs naturally as you are changing breasts. Switching up the feeding position provides frequent opportunities for your baby to gently stretch their neck muscles.
- Switch up your baby’s sleeping position in the crib—Change which end of the bed your baby’s head is aimed at. As your baby gets a bit older and can look around, they will turn to look for you. If they are always laying in the crib the same way, they will always look for you from the same direction. Switching which end of the bed your baby’s head is aimed at will provide gentle opportunities for your little one to stretch their neck muscles.
- Rearrange your baby holding equipment—Baby carriers, bouncy seats, etc. should be moved frequently into different parts of the room. Again, you want your baby to turn their head to seek you from different directions. Turning the head stretches the neck muscles.
- Limit the use of baby holding equipment— Since your baby sleeps on their back for safety (because of the Back to Sleep program), when they are in a carrier or bouncy seat, they are still on their back. Hours spent with pressure on the back or side of the skull can cause positional plagiocephaly. This is one reason emphasis is placed on tummy time. When your child is on the tummy, they do not have pressure on the back of the skull.
- Make tummy time a habit— See #6 above. Not only does playing on the tummy strengthen your baby’s neck and upper back extensor muscles, which are vital in head control, but the position also provides much-needed freedom from pressure on the back of the head. Doing a little tummy time after each diaper change is a great way to remember to do it. Never leave your baby unattended and do not do tummy play on the changing table.
- Manage spit-up during tummy time— Babies spit up a lot, especially when on their tummy. Pressure on the abdomen pushes the stomach’s contents up and out through the mouth. Parents often stop doing tummy time if their baby spits up a lot. Doing tummy time with your child’s head elevated minimizes the frequency and volume of spitting up. (See photo below). If your baby continue to spit up a lot after six months of age, speak with your child’s doctor.
- Place your baby on their side often— This is usually done while your baby is awake and you are supervising. Here’s another video showing how I recommend doing this. The side-lying position provides opportunities to gently stretch neck muscles and relieves pressure off the back of the skull.
- Be vigilant the first six months—Your baby’s skull will continue to harden for many more months. By six-months-old, most babies are rolling, learning to sit, and trying to crawl on their bellies. They spend little time now on their backs so the risk for development of flat spots is minimal.
For most babies, these tips will prevent or alleviate any flat spots. If you continue to remain concerned, contact a pediatric physical therapist and request an evaluation.
If these tips aren’t enough and your baby does end up needing a helmet, rest assured the treatment usually works. Sometimes these easy ways aren’t enough. While you’re probably disappointed and concerned, your baby won’t remember it. Most adapt quite well.
Try to make the best of it and decorate that helmet. Embrace it as a positive and know your child will be thankful their head is nicely shaped when they become a teenager.
Get your FREE Gift yet? Grab it here.
(Photos: Adobe Stock)
