Why has the Number of Babies Diagnosed with Plagiocephaly Increased?
Plagiocephaly is more common than it used to be. Before 1992 babies were put to sleep in every position, including on their tummies. This varied the amount of force exerted onto all areas of the child’s head. The ‘Back to Sleep’ program was introduced in 1992 to reduce Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). The back to sleep program advised that all babies should be placed on their backs when going to sleep until the individual child has the ability to roll and reposition themselves independently. However, this allowed the force exerted onto the child’s head to be concentrated to a smaller area, increasing the risk of Plagiocephaly. A direct correlation was seen from the reduction of SIDS to the increase in the number of babies with Plagiocephaly. The Back to Sleep program has been very successful in reducing the incidence of SIDS, so it is vital to continue following the advice of placing your child on their back to sleep. Due to this, it is very important to increase the time a baby sp
