Ruth Wilson writes:
>Subject: head flattening Wall ST Journal
>Feb 23 WALL ST JOURNAL Anybody see this article re: 400% increase in skull
>surgeries to correct a new syndrome of skull flattening in infants
>suspected of having a RARE condition called synostosis or early congenital
>fissure closure and head flattening (posterior skull) THis astounding
>increase in major surgeries have been done in huge numbers since 1992 !!!!


Ruth, something is very odd about this.  A baby laid down to sleep on its
belly has to turn it's head to the side, so it is still laying on the side
of the skull.  You can see flat-headed people if you hang out where their
are buys with military haircuts (like A&M) -- usually the right side is
flatter than the left.  So it must be the immobility that leads to early
suture closure?  I just popped next door to ask my colleague, who is a
skeletal biologist who does research on prehistoric human skeletal remains,
including the Caddo of Texas, who practiced purposive cranial deformation on
their babies, and southwestern tribes where babies spent most of each day
tied into a cradleboard and so end up with completely flat backs to their
skulls.  He says none of these groups show an increase in cranial suture
closure -- they just have funny-shaped heads.  And the ones in cradleboards
would be like kids sleeping with wedges in being unable to move their heads
around.

I'll bet something else is going on, and IF there really is an increase in
premature suture closure, it isn't due to the "back to sleep" issue.  Notice
I said IF.

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Katherine A. Dettwyler, Ph.D.                         email: [log in to unmask]
Anthropology Department                               phone: (409) 845-5256
Texas A&M University                                    fax: (409) 845-4070
College Station, TX  77843-4352