wearing her STARband for Plagiocephaly

Olivia got her STARband helmet yesterday. She is being treated at Children's Health Care of Atlanta at Scottish Rite. All of the employees at Scottish Rite have been extremely nice and helpful!

Information below is taken from: http://www.starbandkids.com

The STARband is an effective treatment for babies between 3 and 18 months of age, and has been successfully used to treat babies with head shape problems since 2001.

Correction usually occurs within 3-6 months when the baby begins orthotic treatment before 12 months of age.

The baby's active growth is a dynamic component of the treatment. Compliance to the twenty-three hour per day wearing schedule is crucial to a successful outcome.

Besides torticollis, another postnatal cause of deformational plagiocephaly occurs when the back of the baby's head rests for prolonged periods of time against a hard surface like an infant carrier, car seat, swing, or stroller. Before 1992, babies were put to sleep on their tummies, which varied the amount of pressure on the back of the head. However, since the very successful "Back to Sleep" program was initiated in an effort to end Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), babies now spend all night on their backs until they are able to roll and reposition themselves. The Back to Sleep program has dramatically reduced the incidence of SIDS and is one of the most effective health programs ever initiated. Unfortunately, the combination of the carriers we use to hold and position our babies during the day and placing babies to sleep on their backs all night has increased the potential for the development of head shape deformities. Practitioners and caregivers should support the American Academy of Pediatrics Back to Sleep Program and encourage tummy time during the day while the baby is awake and supervised in order to minimize the effects of continuous spine positioning on the head.