Please share your helmet stories!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Studies have proven that the helmets are completely useless and the head rounds out on its own. So when you are seeing "progress" with the helmet it is because it would have rounded out anyway but people obviously contribute it to the helmets. Most reputable pediatricians will not suggest them. And of course you can get one if you want-they are ridiculously expensive and the helmet manufactures would love to sell them to everyone. But the fact is for flat head it does nothing. I'm not talking about other conditions people get helmets for-just flat head.

+1. http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/well/2014/05/01/helmets-do-little-to-help-moderate-infant-skull-flattening-study-finds/?referer=

These studies disagree.
http://mobile.journals.lww.com/jcraniofacialsurgery/_layouts/15/oaks.journals.mobile/articleviewer.aspx?year=2004&issue=01000&article=00031#ath

http://mobile.journals.lww.com/jcraniofacialsurgery/_layouts/15/oaks.journals.mobile/articleviewer.aspx?year=2000&issue=11060&article=00010#ath

http://thejns.org/doi/abs/10.3171/2009.1.PEDS08330

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/126/4/e936.short

We did go the DOC Band route. Our child had congenital torticollis and moderate brachiocephaly and plagiocephaly. The problem when the bones start shifting is that they the bones on the back of the head moving will start to shift facial features. DS had one ear higher than the other and the cheek on the same side was also higher. We had already done PT for months and he could sit and roll over on his own. He was rarely in a swing and was held or worn quite a bit. It was pretty obvious and our ped also recommended we go for an evaluation.
We started seeing results by the end of the first week. We don't regret it at all; our insurance at the time didn't cover it, but the one we have now would since he fell into the moderate category.