Positional plagiocephaly or deformational plagiocephaly is a flat head in an infant caused by too much time on his or her back. It is harmless developmentally but can be quite significant cosmetically.
Frequency of positional plagiocephaly has increased dramatically with SIDS prevention advice of sleeping babies on their backs. It is best prevented by aggressively rotating the baby's position when the baby is awake.
Treatment is possible through a head brace, a "dynamic orthotic cranioplasty" device, that the baby wears 23 hours a day. It is dynamic in the sense that the brace can be adjusted as the head shape changes and the baby grows.
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