How to avoid "Flat Head Syndrome" with your baby

I guess "Flat Head" is better than "Cone Head"!
But I'd prefer neither.

Once rare, Flat Head Syndrome is now a common sight.  I find this distressing because it is so easily avoided.

Flat Head Syndrome is the consequence of Baby spending far too much time on his or her back which is unnatural.  The newborn skull is soft cartilage that deforms easily, such as when squeezing through the narrow birth canal.  

Even the slight pressure of the skull resting on a mattress, or reclining in a baby seat, is sufficient to cause deformation of the skull.  If not relieved and countered by equal time on his or her front, and swapping from one side to the other, this deformation may become permanent as the plates of the skull and face transform from soft, malleable cartilage to hard bone.

While flattening of the back of the skull is the most common problem, laying Baby in such a way that there is uneven pressure on one side of the face, more than on the other, can result in permanent distortion of the proportions of the face over time.

Flat head syndrome is the unforeseen consequence of the hysteria and fear generated over cot death or sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Flat Head is the result of dishing out narrow health advice in dumbed-down sound bytes, devised by a committee of well-intentioned health experts who fail to see the consequences of their advice beyond their narrow brief.

In my opinion, this is poor health practice that treats mothers and fathers as if they are idiots who are incapable of understanding anything other than what can be packaged in an advertising sound byte.

While placing a baby on its back may reduce risk of SIDS, there are many other factors that contribute to this most distressing untimely death, such as nutrition, the negatives of vaccinations and smothering a baby in excessive clothing and bedding and over-heating.  But I have digressed slightly into health politics.

While I am not aware of any neurological consequences of flat head, a disproportionate face and skull is highly undesirable and let's face it: The brain is intended to be oval in shape - not square!

Let's demonstrate how to avoid Flat Head Syndrome by way of a pictorial of Marie Monmont and her delightful daughter .

Here is Marie with her absolutely delightful 3rd child, Louise (Her other child is already halfway down the path and she's not in the least bit concerned).

The simple sling Marie is using protects her from the back and arm strain many women suffer from
carrying heavy and awkward baby seats.

Baby and Mother are "one".

Note, as well, that Louise is so attentive of her environment and developing excellent postural
strength and control.

Here is Louise sound asleep on my clinic's floor with her hand in mouth.  Note the beautifully rounded skull.  No soft mattress, no smothering in blankets (babies have really good fat insulation).
What you can't see is there is no "Helicopter" mother.  Louise is happy to sleep while Mum get's on with other matters.

Louise is demonstrating exceptional strength of her postural muscles.  Being able to extend and hold her spine, as she is, is the essential precursor to crawling, then walking and finally running.  In this position she is able to look about and take in the World about her.

Humans do not live in an upside down World (unless you are trapped in the Matrix).

Louise is also showing good colour - no hint of rosy cheeks which is a sign of magnesium and other mineral and vitamin deficiencies that can set a baby up for many kinds of illnesses, including being very vulnerable to childhood infections.

Being an obstinate and self-opinionated French woman (aren't they all?), Marie has refused to be cajoled into vaccinating any of her three children.  Marie is a French chef by training and is a passionate advocate of "traditional foods" - None of this low fat, processed to death fast food stuff!

Marie has naturally acquired immunity to most childhood diseases and she is helping protect her baby by passing on her antibodies via her breast milk.

Louise is a very bright baby, showing none of the signs so common today of Autism Spectrum Disorder.  There are no snotty noses among her children - I can attest to their wonderful health.

And look at the beautiful proportioning of her skull and face - perfect!
What more can her parents want for?

About this website 

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation. Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.

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How to teach children to fall properly

Falls (including slipping and tripping) across all age groups are the single largest cause of injury for New Zealanders - not just older adults, children and those with disabilities. During the period 1993 to 2002, nearly 380,500 people were hospitalised for an unintentional injury, of these 160,200 (over 40 percent), were falls-related. Nearly 2,500 fall-related deaths occurred between 1992 and 2001.

Falls are exceptionally diverse in terms of their multiple causes, location of occurrence and effective prevention across the life-span.
http://www.nzips.govt.nz/priorities/falls.html

Gary Moller Comments:
Injuries resulting from falls are a world-wide epidemic and the problem is set to get much worse. This is because of the Baby Boomers hitting old age and the problem being eaxcerbated by the widespread drugging of the elderly with all kinds of medications on a scale never seen before. Adding to the problem on a grand scale is the sad fact that children are no longer learning the art of falling properly through what used to be normal play - play fighting, climbing trees, or playing bull-rush and scrag in the playground.

My experience of children nowadays is that few are able to do a basic forward roll without bumping their heads and landing awkwardly. Few have the muscle strength in their necks to counter the head-smashing whiplash that happens when falling over backwards and few have neither the technique nor the arm strength to break a forwards or side fall without fracturing an arm or wrist.

The usual approach to preventing falls is to progressively wrap our citizens in layer after layer of cotton wool. Such an approach, while partially effective, is abhorrent to the FreeRanger. The better approach, beginning with children, is teach them how to fall properly and, therefore, safely - and to ensure that they have the strength to go with the technique. This same approach can be applied with success to the elderly with the added strategy of ensuring that they are as medication free as possible and that any they must be on are not causing poor balance and frailty. Further measures include ensuring best nutrition, proper eyecare and a relatively hazard free environment.

It is easy and safe to teach a child how to fall because the wee body bounces really well without injury and the rapidly growing brain soaks up new skills like a dry sponge.

Teach your child how to do a forward roll, wrestle on the floor. These activities teach kinaesthetic awareness (awareness of body position in time and space). Teach the "Flying Flambini" (carefully and progressively!). One way to strengthen a young body is to challenge them to do things like climbing the walls (Don't parents of young children do that?). Climbing the walls builds awesome strength to weight.

Take care: Be ready to catch because going up is much easier than coming down, or place something soft underneath like a very large cushion. Creeping up towards the ceiling and then dropping down from an ever increasing height teaches the child how to land and absorb impact without injury.

By teaching these kinds of skills and building strong muscles, bones and ligaments at the same time, you are preparing your child for an inury free life that is free of restrictive cotton wool.

Teaching your child to fall properly

Latest stats are that around 280,000 accident claims are recorded in NZ each year for falls. Children and young people make up many of these accidents. For the elderly, the consequences may be fatal. Refer to my ealier blog about this.

What is a real concern is the youngsters coming through to their adolescent growth spurts with little in the way of the skills, agility or the strength to safely negotiate a fall. And let's face it; we will all fall over at various stages of our lives, so let's prepare for the inevitable, starting with our kids while they are still small. Safely teach basic movement skills, like leaping and rolling. If a child does not learn basic movement skills, like the forward roll and does not have the strength to withstand impact, serious injury from a fall is inevitable during adulthood.

Teaching your son, daughter or grandchildren to fall safely is great fun. Refer to my earlier blog here, for a start. Here is another game you can introduce your small children to: Balancing on the top of a secure platform, like a large sofa, tossing a ball to the ceiling and leaping up to catch the ball and landing with great skill and on the carpeted floor.