Baby's head shape: What's normal?

Many newborns have slightly lopsided heads. Sometimes a baby's head is molded unevenly while passing through the birth canal. In other cases, head shape changes after birth as a result of spending too much time in one position. Although your baby's head shape will probably even out on its own, you can help prevent flat spots — and detect more serious problems.

What you can do about it

Positional molding is most common in babies who spend most of their time on their backs in cribs, car seats or infant seats. Although this is the safest position for sleep, there's plenty you can to do to keep your baby's head from becoming flat or lopsided.

• Change direction. Place your baby on his or her back to sleep, but alternate the direction your baby's head faces. Or place your baby's head near the foot of the crib one day, the head of the crib the next. Use varying positions in the car seat and other infant seats, too. You might also consider using a neck-positioning device — such as a specially designed wedge or U-shaped pad — while your baby sleeps. Never rest your baby's head on a pillow or other type of soft bedding.
• Hold your baby. Holding your baby when he or she is awake will help relieve pressure on your baby's head from swings, carriers and infant seats.
• Try tummy time. With close supervision, place your baby on his or her tummy to play. Make sure the surface is firm. If you must leave the room, bring your baby with you.
• Get creative. Position your baby so that he or she will have to turn away from the flattened side of the head to look at you or to track movement or sound in the room. Move the crib occasionally to give your baby a new vantage point.

More serious causes

Rarely, two or more of the bony plates in a baby's head fuse prematurely. This rigidity pushes other parts of the head out of shape as the brain expands. This condition, known as craniosynostosis, is typically treated during infancy. To give the brain enough space to grow and develop, the fused bones must be surgically separated.