Flat Head Syndrome
Alexis Sawyer, M.D.
Boys Town Pediatrics
Flat head is a condition that commonly happens to babies. It's when the back of the head of a baby gets flat over time, basically, from positioning or lying on their back so long.
The skull is very soft and pliable at this age. The bones in the head shift around a little bit. The reason that they do that is because the brain is developing still and growing and the brain needs to be able to push out the skull.
My recommendations for parents, is to give them tummy time while they're awake during the day, starting from the time you bring them home from the hospital.
You may want to start with just a minute or two to begin with and then you work your way up as well as your baby tolerates it. I try to tell parents to get in a couple times a day of doing that.
Sometimes parents will always feed their baby on one arm and that can be a problem because it pushes on that one side of the head and you can get flatness there. So, think about switching which arm you're feeding your baby on.
Also, think about which way your baby's head is in their crib or bassinet and also on their changing table. They always want to be looking out at you so they might get a little bit flat on one side versus the other. If you rotate that every once in a while, that will help even that out and make them more round in the back of their head.
