Brachycephaly is characterized by: increased width flattening across the back and head height, sometimes there are asymmetries and sometimes there aren’t. These babies love to lay on their backs and aren’t the biggest fans of tummy time. It’s just too darn hard! They also like to hang out in their bouncy seats. This is a tough head shape to correct because it’s almost 50% of the head! It’s very important to seek out therapy early with these munchkins.
Scaphocephaly is characterized by increased length and very narrow. We typically see this with babies that were breech in utero or spent a lot of time in the NICU. The important thing (and most difficult) is keeping these babies in midline. Attempts to reshape these heads with repositioning need to start very early, as the older they get, it gets soooo hard.
This little munchkin has nice correction of her asymmetries but the family worked very hard! Remember, newborn skulls are very malleable. This puts them at risk for flattening BUT can also work in your favor when trying to correct it. Start now – NO WAIT AND SEE HERE !