The baby's head is too convex when he doesn't sleep on his back

As we all know, a newborn baby's bones are relatively soft because they are not fully developed. Therefore, many mothers will let their babies maintain a healthy posture when they are sleeping to prevent their heads from being pressed down. However, some babies do not sleep on their backs, which causes the back of their heads to be too protruding. In fact, this can easily lead to safety hazards, and mothers are advised to pay attention to and improve their baby's sleeping position.

"Sleeping head shape" refers to the custom of giving a newborn a better head shape by changing the sleeping position within 1 to 2 months after birth. The custom of "sleeping head" is widely spread among the people. The nerves and muscles of the baby's face are in the early stages of development. If the sleeping posture is inappropriate, it will cause local compression and poor blood flow, which will lead to maldevelopment of various tissues, especially nerves. This damage can cause defects such as facial deviation and strabismus.

In some places, there is a custom of giving newborns a "sleeping head" or "sleeping flat head", which means using dictionaries, thick books, hard pillows, etc. to change the shape of the baby's skull. Although this custom may not usually cause serious head deformation in infants (serious deformity can cause insufficient brain capacity in infants and affect the normal development of intelligence), it can easily flatten the baby's head, which in turn greatly affects their beauty. Moreover, modern parents find it difficult to accept a flat head shape and instead prefer a round back of the head.

Why should babies' sleeping positions be fixed?

Some young parents always let their newborns sleep in a fixed position, or even in a fixed posture, which can easily lead to a flat head. The skeleton of infants is not fully developed, the bones are tender and soft, and they are easily deformed when subjected to external forces. If a newborn sleeps facing one direction for a long time, the weight of the head will exert pressure on the part of the skull that contacts the bed, causing that part of the skull to gradually sink and eventually form a flat head. The way to avoid this consequence is simple: just let your baby change his sleeping position frequently. That is, every one or two days, let the child change from lying on the left side to lying on the right side, and then change to lying on the left side or on the side.

When caring for a baby, you should try to avoid maintaining the same sleeping position for a long time. It is best to ensure that the baby alternates between lying on his back and lying on his side, so that he can have a face with regular features in the future. The baby's head shape is important, but the quality of his sleep is more important. The mother must ensure that the baby can sleep comfortably and peacefully before adjusting the head shape.

In many areas, the elderly at home insist that newborns sleep with various pillows to keep their heads flat or fixed. As a result, many newborns' heads become crooked due to insistence.

The human spine has four curves - cervical, thoracic, lumbar and sacrococcygeal. These four bends will gradually form as infants and young children grow. A pillow is needed only when the cervical curvature is formed. The cervical curve is formed when the child can sit up independently. Therefore, it is recommended to use a pillow only when you can sit independently. Regardless of whether you use a pillow or not, it is best to change your sleeping position {lying flat, lying on the side, lying prone (not allowed within 3 months)} frequently to avoid abnormal head shape due to sleeping position.