Did you know that nearly half of newborns develop a flat spot by their second month? Even if most cases are mild, doesn’t that seem unacceptable? I thought so, especially when so much focus is put on “Back to Sleep” which has made flat spots more prevalent. What makes this figure even more alarming is that flat spots can largely be prevented through simple techniques such as regularly rotating a newborn’s head each time he or she sleeps.
My name is Irene Collado, I’m the co-founder of Turn Your Baby and the mother of two boys (1.5 and 6). When my youngest, Lucas, was diagnosed with flat head syndrome (positional plagiocephaly) last year, I chose to fit him with a helmet because I felt it was a better option than just waiting and hoping his flat spot would go away in God-knows-how-long. More importantly, the doctor who fitted Lucas’s helmet informed me that his flat spot likely could have been avoided if I regularly rotated his head each time he slept, as recommended by the AAP.
At first, I was frustrated that I learned about this “turn my baby” instruction after it was too late. But then my frustration grew into problem-solving. I kept thinking, even if I was given the instruction, I would’ve had a hard time remembering with my other boy running around the house acting like, well, a four-year-old. After all, in order to rotate Lucas’s head each time he slept, I would’ve had to remember in what head position he slept previously. So I envisioned a simple device to help parents follow this simple but largely overlooked prevention technique.
That’s how Turn Your Baby was born – to help parents remember to “turn your baby” each time he or she sleeps. In addition to the reminder device, we also plan to launch a nationwide advocacy campaign to put more focus on preventing flat head (as opposed to just waiting for it to develop and then wrapping a helmet around it).
Championing our efforts is Dr. Chad Perlyn, the pediatric plastic surgeon who treated Lucas. He has long believed that more focus needs to be put on preventing flat spots instead of waiting for them to develop and then treating them. As soon as I showed him my idea, he jumped on board with incredible enthusiasm. That’s when I knew I was onto something.
To make this vision a reality, we launched a crowdfunding campaign on IndieGoGo to raise funds for the advocacy campaign and to pre-sell the reminder device. If you can empathize with parents who are dealing with infant flat head syndrome, or who would like more information about how to prevent it, we’d love your support. Please contribute to our crowdfunding campaign today and help us put this problem to sleep, every little bit helps. Thank you!
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