no, really?

My friend Holly called last night (Happy Birthday Holly!), and in the course of a long rambling conversation (the best kind) she revealed that she had recently been offered a job with a maker of helmets for babies, designed to reshape their head into something more pleasant. I, as any rational person would do, disputed the existence of such a device, and so she sent me to the company's website, which confirmed once again Shakespeare's assertion that "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy." I especially like that they have created a term - Positional Plagiocephaly - to describe having a flat head. And apparently, having made it a problem (see the government web page on the subject), it is now covered by insurance. Brilliant! According to Lovers and Livers: Disease Concepts in History by Jacalyn Duffin, once this 'disease' hit, referrals for it went through the roof. She also points out how it conveniently once again makes 'working mothers' the culprit, this time for making their kids look funny.

I know some adults that could use one of these devices. :)

Interestingly, this is one of the markers that adoption doctors look for in institutionalized children. When one receives a "referral" (match) with a child, you are sent pictures--usually a couple--and sometimes videos. The advised course of action is to speed these over to an adoption-specialist doctor to evaluate (because you do have the right to turn down a referral and request a different child). I was surprised to learn how much a doctor could see from a photo or two. Misshapen heads are a sign of a lack of holding or repositioning in infants (when the baby is in an institution, "Tummy Time" isn't always on the agenda). They can also tell if the child has enough neck and back muscles to hold up his or her head (it's not unheard of to get an 8 month old who cannot hold up her head). While the primary thing doctors look for are signs of Fetal Alchohol Exposure/Syndrome, my understanding is that head shape is also an indicator of early neglect as well.