The supine position or placing babies on their back while sleeping, which is said to prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), put newborns at greater risks of developing flat spots on sides and back of their heads, according to a new study.
A team of researchers from Canada, looked at 440 healthy infants, aged between seven and 12 weeks. The infants were selected during their visits to the four community health centers across Calgary city, Alberta.
Aliyah Mawji and colleagues, who published their study in the journal Pediatrics found nearly half of the infants (47 percent) in the study had flat head syndrome or Plagiocephaly, a condition that occurs when a baby lies on back and sleeps in the same position for long hours, regularly.
However, the authors urged parents not to panic about their findings, and not to stop placing babies on their backs while sleeping. Parents could place babies on their tummy when they are not sleeping, Health Day reported.
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is one of the leading causes of infant deaths in the U.S., killing about 2,500 babies each year. Also known as crib death, it is the sudden death of a healthy baby during sleep. Previous research found that placing newborns to sleep on their stomach increases the risk of SIDS. So, to ensure safety, parents are always advised to place their babies to sleep only on their back.
"It still is very important to put infants to sleep on their backs to prevent SIDS," Mawji, an assistant professor in the School of Nursing at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta, told Health Day.
According to experts at Mayo Clinic, changes to a baby's skull normally happen either while passing through the birth canal or by sleeping on back for long hours.
Following are some tips from the Clinic to avoid the development of an uneven head also known as positional molding or plagiocephaly at infancy:
- Changing baby's head position - Change direction where the baby's head faces, every alternative day, while placing him/her to sleep on its back in the crib.
- Use alternative hands to hold the baby while feeding.
- Hold babies frequently, when they are not sleeping. It helps reduce the pressure that swings and other carriers leave on their little heads
- Allowing babies to play while lying down on their tummy
If these methods don't improve the baby's head shape by the time they turn four months, health experts recommend parents to consult a pediatrician and get a specially molded helmet for their little ones.
