Things that Affect the Baby's Head Shape

Parents often hear that certain sleeping position can make a baby's head become abnormal. Some things are known to affect the baby's head shape.

Most newborns have an oval head shape or uneven, especially if delivered vaginally because it must pass through the birth canal. In other cases, sometimes changes in head shape due to spending too much time in one position.

In the baby's head will look no soft area on the top of the skull where bone has not grown together. This area is called fontanels (crown) that helps the baby through the birth canal narrow. This will harden Fontanels naturally when aged 6-20 months.

The size of the baby's head will continue to grow along with increasing brain volume. But because the baby's skull bones are still malleable, then spent too much time in the same position could lead to changes in the form of a baby's head, as quoted from Mayoclinic.

Before it hardens fontanels area, then the baby's head shape can still change, one way is to change the baby's position as when he was asleep.

Baby's head shape is the most common molding that looks somewhat oval when viewed from above, but when viewed from the back is flatter on one side and the ear on the flat side may look like going forward.

Head shape is most common in babies who spend most of his time lying in bed, car seat or infant seat. Even so, there are some things you can do to keep the baby's head shape is:

- Changing direction, if the baby is often slept with your head tilted to the left then change it facing the right, if necessary to give a booster in the back to make it more stable position.

- Holding the baby's head, when the baby is awake try to hold the head in order to help reduce the pressure and hold the baby's head while he was eating.

- Try to place the infant in theprone position while playing or sleeping, but with close supervision, especially if the baby is not strong enough to with stand the weight of his head.

- Try to be creative so as to provide a new baby's point of view and not stuck on one side, for example, providing a stimulus in the form of sound or a particular toy.