Helping Your Baby Develop a Symmetrical Head Shape: What You Need to Know

As a new parent, you might find yourself constantly marveling at your baby’s every little feature. However, one detail that might raise concerns is the shape of their head. It’s natural to worry if a baby head shape doesn’t seem perfectly round or symmetrical, but the good news is that most of the time, this is a common and manageable issue.

Understanding the factors that influence infant head shapes and knowing when and how you can help shape your baby’s head can ease your concerns. Here’s how you can ensure your little one develops with a healthy, symmetrical skull.

Factors in Infant Head Shapes

Birth Process and Early Life

Baby head shapes can be influenced by various factors, starting as early as birth. During delivery, especially in vaginal births, a baby’s skull is subject to significant pressure as it passes through the birth canal. This can result in a temporarily misshapen head, which usually rounds out over time. Newborns often have elongated or misshapen heads immediately after birth, but these typically resolve within a few days to weeks.

Positional Factors

Another common factor is how your baby lies, particularly during the first few months. Babies spend a lot of time lying on their backs, a position that’s recommended to help reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome. However, this can sometimes lead to a quite common condition called positional plagiocephaly, in which the back or side of the head becomes flattened due to consistent pressure in one spot.

Craniosynostosis

While positional factors are the most common cause of asymmetry, another factor to consider is craniosynostosis, a condition where the skull bones fuse too early, leading to an abnormal head shape. This is a more serious condition that requires medical evaluation and treatment. Your pediatrician can diagnose this through physical examination and, in some cases, imaging studies.

Can You Shape a Baby’s Head?

Positioning Techniques

One of the simplest ways to encourage a symmetrical head shape is by using positioning techniques. Repositioning your baby’s head during sleep and awake time can help alleviate excess pressure on any one spot. Altering their head position when placing your baby to sleep and during tummy time also helps to develop neck muscles evenly.

Tummy Time

Tummy time is another crucial activity for helping with baby head shape correction and overall development. When your baby is on their tummy, it encourages them to lift their head, which strengthens neck muscles and reduces the risk of a flat spot developing on the back of the head. Engaging in tummy time for short periods multiple times a day while your baby is awake and supervised is ideal.

Helmets and Other Devices

In some cases, when repositioning techniques aren’t enough or if the asymmetry is more pronounced, a health care provider may recommend cranial remolding orthosis, also called infant helmet therapy, using a baby head shape helmet. These devices work by applying gentle pressure to specific areas of the skull. However, helmet therapy is typically reserved for moderate to severe cases and is most effective when started between four and six months of age.

When Does Baby Head Shape Become Permanent?

Early Intervention Is Key

A baby’s head shape isn’t permanent immediately after birth. In fact, the skull remains relatively malleable during the first few months of life. The first six months are crucial for addressing any needed baby head shape changes since the skull is still rapidly growing and can be influenced by interventions.

Head Shape Finalizes Around 1 Year of Age

By the time your baby reaches their first birthday, their skull bones begin to harden, and the shape of the head becomes more permanent. After about 18 months, the opportunities to reshape the skull diminish significantly, making it vital to address any issues early on.

While it’s natural to worry about the shape of your baby’s head, it’s important to remember that mild asymmetry is common and often resolves on its own. By being proactive, you can help ensure your baby’s head develops into a symmetrical shape. If you have concerns, consult with your pediatrician for personalized advice and potential treatment options.

Get Helmet Molding Therapy Costs Covered With MC-LEF

Since its inception in 1995, the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation (MC-LEF) has provided $35,000 in educational accounts and humanitarian assistance to the families of active-duty fallen United States Marines, Navy corpsmen, and federal law enforcement agents. We also cover the cost of cranial orthotic helmets for children of active-duty Marines or Navy corpsmen. If you’re one of them and your baby requires helmet molding therapy, contact us to learn how we can help!

To date, MC-LEF has awarded over $93 million in educational accounts and other humanitarian assistance to over 6,000 recipients.

All MC-LEF officers and board members are volunteers; we have only one paid employee. We pride ourselves on running our organization as cost-effectively as possible so that over 90% of our donor funds can be used to accomplish our mission of educating the children of those who sacrificed all. Please consider donating today!