High Incidence of Positional Plagiocephaly

Infants with plagiocephaly present with unilateral occipital flattening. More-severe plagiocephaly might lead to asymmetric faces (including frontal bossing, ear displacement, and chin deviation) resulting from deformation of the skull related to sleep positioning. Although the American Academy of Pediatrics' 1992 recommendation that healthy infants sleep in a supine position has significantly reduced sudden infant death syndrome, anecdotal evidence suggests that referrals to subspecialty clinics for plagiocephaly have increased. Researchers in Calgary, Canada, estimated the incidence of positional plagiocephaly in healthy full-term 7- to 12-week-old infants in four communities from July to September 2010.

Among 440 infants, 205 (47%) were j…