Written question asked by Nicholas Winterton (Conservative) on Wednesday, 11 July 2007, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 16 July 2007. It was answered by Ann Keen (Labour) on Thursday, 19 July 2007 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Plagiocephaly

Question: (2) how many cases of plagiocephaly were identified in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available;

Answer: The Department has made no such assessment. Neither does it collect figures on the numbers of cases of plagiocephaly. However, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children has estimated that almost half of children develop positional plagiocephaly and that only a very small minority develop it in the womb. The rest develop positional plagiocephaly from spending a lot of time in one position, usually on their backs. Nevertheless, Doctors recommend that babies sleep on their backs in order to reduce the incidence of cot death.There are several treatments for plagiocephaly available either on the national health service, or through parental intervention. However, since in the overwhelming majority of cases, the condition is self-correcting, many doctors do not deem additional treatment necessary.

Secondary information