Plagiocephaly (pla'je-o-sef'ah-le) is not uncommon, and often results from external forces applied to the soft infant skull. It might sound complicated, but plagiocephaly literally means "oblique head" (from Greek: plagio = oblique, and cephale = head) It's called a parallelogram deformity because, if you look down on the infant's head (bird's-eye-view), this is the shape you will see.
From this angle it looks as if half of the head has been pushed forward, often accompanied by misalignment of the ears, facial asymmetry and bulging forehead.
The DOC Band®, a 6-oz device, consists of an outer plastic shell with a foam lining. Mild pressures are applied to capture the growth of an infant's head, holding growth in the prominent areas and encouraging it in the flat regions. Adjustments are made to the band weekly or bi-weekly. Length of treatment depends on the age of the infant and severity of the condition. Because no two heads are identical, each patient's treatment is customized.
Edith will be wearing the DOC Band® for about 5 - 7 weeks, maybe a little longer, depending on how soft or hard her head is and how quickly the band works. Since we caught this so early, she shouldn't have to wear it very long...some kids have to have a second band because they are older and it doesn't work as quickly! From all of the other moms I've talked to, kids get used to the band really quickly and it doesn't seem to bother them at all. One really good thing is that one of Edith's Cradle cousins who just came home from Guatemala has the band, so they'll have that in common as well as their agency :)
We are really excited about the DOC Band® and getting Edith's head fixed...even though she is perfect in our eyes, we don't want her to be the "kid with the weird head" when she goes to school. We're certain to get stared at for a while, but I plan to tell her that it's because she is so cute :)
