Almost Half of Babies Have Flat Heads

If your baby has a little flat spot on the back of his head, fear not — almost half of all babies have the same.

A new study out of Canada has found that almost 50 percent of two-month old's skulls have a flat spot on the back, and a change in parenting habits may be the reason why.

In the early 1990s, pediatricians began telling parents to lay their children in their backs when they are put to sleep in an effort to reduce the instances of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Combined with the over-use of car seats, and parents simply not holding their children as much as they used to, flattened skulls have become more prevelant.

However, parents should not stop using this advice — the Back to Sleep campaign that started the back-sleeping era of children has been wildly successful. To off set the time their babies sleep on their backs, parents are encouraged to hold their babies more, and give them "tummy time" when they are awake and supervised.

It's important to note that a flattened skull, while noticeable, is not medically dangerous. However, if the flat spot becomes permanent, it may cause psychological damage to the child when he is older. Many skull deformations in infants can be treated with a helmet.

Read the study, and tell us — did your baby have a flat spot on his skull when he was a baby? What did you do to treat it?

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