A mum has spoken of her desperate race to save her baby’s head before he becomes deformed for life.
Beth Smith first noticed something wasn’t right with her son Macsen just weeks after giving birth.
The 29-year-old spotted that the tot’s head had started to flatten at the back.
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And despite trying everything she could, the shape only got worse.
Though the warning signs were subtle, the mum says she recognised them instantly.
“I tried many different things to try and prevent the flattening from worsening,” Beth, from Caerphilly, told Need To Know.
“I used a special baby pillow, repositioned his head, did more tummy time, but nothing worked. It just got worse.
“We had comments like, ‘What’s wrong with him?’
“It did upset me at first because they just assumed there was a learning disability.
“But I knew what it was straight away – my four-year-old son Owen had the same thing.”
Beth, who works in private nurseries, recognised Macsen’s condition to be plagiocephaly and brachycephaly – a condition that causes both the back and side of a baby’s head to become flat.
Also known as flat head syndrome, the condition is common among babies and often goes away as they grow and move more.
But if left untreated, moderate to severe cases can lead to lasting head deformities and facial asymmetry.
Beth says that as the weeks went by, the shape of Macsen’s head continued to change.
She said, “I knew he was going to need the helmet there and then.
“As I had already been through this situation before with my eldest child, I was quite calm about the issue.
“I just went ahead and booked him in for a helmet fitting, which he definitely needed as he has severe flattening of both the back and side of his head.
“I was always told with my first son that helmets aren’t offered on the NHS, so essentially there was nothing the doctors or health visitors could do.”
Beth knew Mascen, now seven months old, needed a special helmet to improve the shape of his skull as he grew.
The devices apply pressure to the bulging parts of the skull to relieve pressure.
But a scan later revealed Macsen’s flattening was severe, affecting the back and side of his head.
To afford his specially-made helmet, which cost £2,350, Beth’s partner Chris Smith, 38, sold his tools and relatives chipped in to help cover the rest.
Macsen now wears the helmet 23 hours a day – but time is quickly running out.
Beth added: “When we take it off to clean it and put it back on, he sometimes puts his hands in the way and moves his head around and giggles to try and stop it going back on.
“He still isn’t really bothered by it. It seems to be more of a game for him.
“But as Macsen grows, the helmet has reached its limit. There’s no room left for adjustment, and if he has another growth spurt, it will become unsafe to use.
“That means the treatment could be cut short, while his head is still classed as severely misshapen.
“Without a second helmet, Macsen risks permanent issues. His face and head may remain uneven, making simple things like wearing glasses, hats or getting a haircut difficult.
“It could also lead to future problems with hearing, eyesight, chewing, and jaw alignment. In extreme cases, corrective surgery may even be needed later in life.
“Of course, you would get people bullying him because of the way he looked, which would affect his self-esteem.
“It also causes issues with their eyesight and hearing, and their ability to eat and chew.
“Later down the line, in some cases, it has resulted in doctors needing to break the jaw and pull teeth to re-align everything.
“So, all of this needs to be prevented with the helmet.”
Beth has now launched a GoFundMe to try and raise another £2,350 for a second helmet.
Any extra funds will go toward helping other families in the same position.
Beth added: “This condition is caused by genetics, it isn’t caused by the laziness of parents.
“People assume you don’t do tummy time with your baby or that you’ve not been bothered to try and reposition them.
“If people are curious, I welcome them to ask questions.
“It makes me happy when people are willing to educate themselves about why my son wears his helmet instead of judging and making horrible comments, which we do get.”
