Why does my baby's head have a flat part?
- Apr 6
- 1 min read
Babies in the NICU, especially those born early, often develop some changes in the shape of their head. This happens because their skull bones are still very soft, and they may spend a lot of time lying in one position.
The important thing to know is that this does not affect brain growth or development. It’s about the shape of the skull, not how the brain is growing.
In the NICU, babies need to be positioned in certain ways for breathing, comfort, and safety. Because of that—and because they aren’t moving around as much yet—pressure can build on one area of the head over time and make the part of the skull they are lying on flat.
Things that can help to minimize the flattening of the head
Frequent adjusting of the baby's position with care times so that they don't spend too much time in any one position.
Doing skin to skin as much as possible to take pressure off the entire skull.
In some cases if a baby's skull has not returned to it's normal shape after discharge from the NICU, a helmet therapy may be offered.
In some cases, if the head shape doesn’t improve enough over time, there are special helmets—called cranial remodeling helmets—that can help gently guide the head into a more typical shape as the baby grows. Ask your medical proivders about this if you are concerned your baby may need this therapy.
Here are some useful websites that can explain more about this condition and different treatment options.