Since the Back to Sleep campaign in the 1990’s, the incidence of SIDS has decreased 40-50% while plagiocephaly, or flat head syndrome, has increased exponentially.¹ Plagiocephaly can be prevented by holding children, according to the NIH (National Institute of Health).² Traditional treatment for plagiocephaly has included several months up to a year of wearing a rigid foam helmet costing $1500-3000, for up to 23 hours a day. The studies that showed improvement using this therapy were not controlled, randomized studies. The results of the first randomized study were released on May 1^st, 2014 and showed no statistically significant differences in improvement between infants with mild to moderate plagiocephaly who wore helmets, and those who did not. In addition, 77% of the parents in the helmet wearing group complained that helmet therapy hindered cuddling with their infants. 33% reported perceived pain, and 96% reported skin irritation³. Coupled with the finding that children with plagiocephaly are more likely to have developmental problems¹ the complaint of less cuddling is even more concerning. About 70% of babies with plagiocephaly do not improve, whether they wear helmets or not. Prevention is the best treatment we have available and babywearing can be that prevention.

1. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3393045/
2. http://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/sids/conditioninfo/pages/faqs.aspx
3. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/824470