What is Plagiocephaly?
From 1995 it has been advised that all babies should be raised in the first few months of their lives in the supine position (sleeping on the back) to reduce the risk of ‘Sudden Infant Death Syndrome’ (SID), also referred to as ‘cot-death’.
This has been of great benefit and to date there is a 40% decrease of SIDs in babies under the age of 4 months.
However, one of the downsides of babies sleeping on their backs is that the back of their heads are more susceptible to pressure than the front and babies are now developing cranial flat spots from sleeping in one position for extended periods.
This is called Plagiocephaly.
Pre-1995 statistics show that 1 in 300 babies were affected with Plagiocephaly.
Now that babies sleep on their backs this has increased to 1 in 60 babies.
This is an increase of 500% in some countries.
Research done in Washington during the 1980 showed that 25 of 63 children (39.7%) with persistent deformational plagiocephaly needed special help in primary school including: special education assistance, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy generally through an Individual Education Plan.
Best For Baby is the founder of Plagio Awareness South Africa and is dedicated to helping parents who are looking for Plagio solutions.
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