What is brachycephaly?

Brachycephaly (Flat head) is a condition characterized by a flattened and wide area at the back of the skull. Most parents notice their baby’s brachycephalic head shape around eight weeks of age, when their baby’s head appears wider than expected and the ears are sometimes pushed outward. Please read on for more information on how to recognize brachycephalic head shape.
The definition of brachycephaly is: having a relatively broad, short skull (typically the width is at least 80 percent of the length).

In babies with brachycephaly, the head is often higher in the back and the back of the head may appear completely flat without any ovalization toward the neck. Brachycephalic head is a form of flat head syndrome and can exist alone or with plagiocephaly . Learn more about the symptoms of brachycephaly in our blog post outlining the 4 symptoms of brachycephalic head shape
. Understanding the difference between plagiocephaly and brachycephaly can be confusing for parents who notice a flat area on their baby’s head, but our previous article provides guidance on the difference between plagiocephaly and brachycephaly and how they differ from flat head syndrome.

What Causes Brachycephaly?

Brachycephaly develops when the natural growth of the baby’s head meets external pressure, which inhibits growth in that area of ​​the head. During early infancy, a baby’s skull is soft enough to be shaped by these external pressures, which can cause areas of the skull to become misshapen, resulting in brachycephaly.
This external pressure has various causes of brachycephaly; these may be a result of external pressures in the womb or outside the womb before birth.

The most common causes of brachycephaly are:

Positional Causes of Brachycephaly

Positional pressure during sleep:

Babies are born with a soft, flexible skull that tends to develop during infancy. If your baby tends to sleep in the same position every night, so pressure continues to be applied to the same area of ​​the head, flattening of the skull may occur. As the flattened area develops, your baby can become more accustomed to that position and the flattening increases further. Or their heads may naturally rotate into this position.
This cause of brachycephaly is particularly common due to the sleep advice given to parents. The Back to Sleep campaign advises parents to put their babies to sleep on their backs to prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Despite its impact on the incidence of flat head syndrome, it is a very successful sleeping position and has reduced the risk of sleep death. Since this wonderful campaign started, the number of babies suffering from cot death has decreased significantly. You can read our safe sleep recommendations in our article on our website Doktoryasar.com.
Brachycephaly treatment includes position correction in mild cases and helmet treatment in severe cases.

Causes of Congenital Brachycephaly (Birth)

Big head size:

Some babies’ head sizes are larger than others, and a very small baby’s muscles cannot enable him to turn his head from one position to another.

Prenatal strains during birth:

A baby may be born with a brachycephalic head shape due to its positioning in the womb or descending into the birth canal.

OligoHydramnios (low amniotic fluid level):

When the mother’s amniotic sac does not contain enough fluid, there is less compression in the uterus. Additionally, if there is more than one baby in the womb, such as twins, this causes ‘crowding’ in the womb. This prenatal environment can put excessive pressure on the baby’s skull, resulting in a brachycephalic head shape.

If you suspect that your little one is brachycephalic and want to learn more and get a professional diagnosis, you should contact cranial treatment centers or doctors who specialize in this issue. You can find more detailed treatment and recommendation information on the home page.