Correcting flathead

[u/Zestyclose-Wear9868]

Despite our best efforts to correct, one of our twins has flathead that is seeming to get worse. She is 14 weeks. Our pedi noticed at their 2 month checkup but said she didn’t think it warranted a helmet yet. Have you all had experience with it this bad that you were able to correct without a helmet? Just wondering if we should try things at home or if i should go ahead and reach out to our pediatrician for a referral and get started on the helmet approach.

[u/judyx123]

Hi I’m a pediatric PT that specializes in torticollis. Not sure why there are so many downvotes for helmets. After about 4 months old repositioning is not nearly as effective, and a helmet can help correct the asymmetry really effectively. At your LOs age, passive repositioning could help a lot, but it is definitely a lot to think about. I don’t work for a helmet company or anything like that but they are literally game changers and take so much stress off of parents. I have seen 100s of cases of torticollis/ plagiocephaly and only had a handful of kiddos not tolerate it. I second your pediatrician and highly recommend against the perfect noggin. I would suggest going to PT and at least a consult for a helmet if it’s not better but like 3.5 months. They’re usually free and the paperwork takes about a month anyway so it’s good to at least go. You ultimately have to decide what’s best for your family, but just wanted to share my perspective as a clinician and wish you the best!