Infants with Plagiocephaly Are at Risk for Developmental Delays as Toddlers

Deformational plagiocephaly (DP) has been linked to developmental delays during infancy. Researchers determined whether these delays persist into the second year of life in 227 children with DP who were recruited at diagnosis from a craniofacial clinic and 232 children without DP who were recruited from a research registry. The children were initially evaluated as infants (mean age, 7 months) with the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (BSID-III) and then reevaluated as toddlers (mean age, 18 months). Infants with DP scored lower than infants without DP.

At the toddler evaluation, 80 children were excluded: 7 children with DP and 2 without DP had medical conditions that potentially affected development; 2 children in the DP grou…