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#1
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Infant flat skulls can be avoided: U.S. doctors
"CBI" wrote in message
... "JG" wrote in message t... If a child sleeps *much* better on his/her stomach (falls asleep faster, stays asleep longer), it makes much better sense, IMO, to let him/her do so. At least (s)he will be a well rested corpse. Why are you so averse to letting parents make a rational decision based on *their* situation? A sleep-deprived child can adversely affect an entire family; his/her problem usually has a domino effect. There's a trade-off to be made in the case of kids whose heads become pronouncably misshapen: Are the costs (financial and other) of having the deformity corrected worth the benefit (very, very small) of forcing an infant to sleep on his/her back? Likewise (alternatively), are the costs of *not* correcting a noticable deformity (teasing, ridiculing, name-calling, ...[= bullying, these days]) worth it? You tell us. What is the cost of correcting these deformities caused by BTS? Sorry, I don't have a plastic surgeon on call. I'm sure you could get a ballpark figure by doing a Gooogle search, however. Compare that to the number of lives saved. How many of these kids are noticibly deformed by the time they get to school age? How much teasing /life is worthwhile? That's for the individual (or, in this case, his/her parents) to decide now, isn't it? "Doomsday," IMO, is already upon us (the US). The point of my posting the article (along with my comments) was not to lament the creation of a society with weird-shaped-head kids (hell, some of the kids whom I tutor have deformities/conditions that they'd undoubtedly trade for a flattened head in a heartbeat), but to deplore the existence of a society in which parents apparently can't discern and resolve problems for themselves. Why do you assume this? I'd say "up to 48%" of kids having misshapen heads, even if the deformities aren't permanent, speaks for itself. The simple measures suggested in the article (prone while awake/observed, rotating 180 degrees in the crib) are, IMO, common sense--yet apparently almost half of "Back to Sleep" parents haven't employed them (or asked their kid's caregiver to employ them). OTOH, maybe they ARE aware of them, and simply think Jr.'s misshapen head is endearing, right? Uh-huh. Yeah... Maybe they can and they just don't come tot he same conclusions as you. Yup. Gee, and to think there are some parents who just can't cope with having kids, so they come to the conclusion that they'll simply off them. |
#2
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Infant flat skulls can be avoided: U.S. doctors
"CBI" wrote in message
... "JG" wrote in message t... With all the concern about "bullying" these days, I'd advise parents, especially those reluctant to encourage their kids to defend themselves, to try to have their kids look as "normal" as possible. Interesting parenting advice. Would you have them keep their mouths shut and go along as much as possible as well? You bet, if they (the kids) are unwilling and/or unable to defend themselves against the responses (consequences) their words or actions, like their appearance, might provoke. Growing up, you must surely have known one or two kids who'd throw stones (literally or figuratively) and immediately retreat behind their mom or dad. What'd you think of them? |
#3
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Infant flat skulls can be avoided: U.S. doctors
"JG" wrote in message t... "Elizabeth Reid" wrote in message om... ...It should be *ZERO*. How in the world could an otherwise competent parent ..... JG - the fallacy of your whinings is showing through. First you whine about the AAP treating parents like idiots. Then you whine that some of them are idiots. Maybe there is some connection? Perhaps the AAP is not being so unreasonable after all? -- CBI, MD |
#4
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Infant flat skulls can be avoided: U.S. doctors
"JG" wrote in message t... "CBI" wrote in message ... "JG" wrote in message t... If a child sleeps *much* better on his/her stomach (falls asleep faster, stays asleep longer), it makes much better sense, IMO, to let him/her do so. At least (s)he will be a well rested corpse. Why are you so averse to letting parents make a rational decision based on *their* situation? A sleep-deprived child can adversely affect an entire family; his/her problem usually has a domino effect. Never said I was. Why do you assume that parents aren't? Maybe some value the decreased risk over a little extra sleep. Truth be told there are very few kids who, if put down supine right from birth, will not sleep just fine. There is nothing int he back to sleep program that suggests parents should force the issue. All they are told to due is to put them down face up. There is no direction to keep checking them and flipping the kid over. We've discussed this before yet to keep raising the same old crap over and over again. You tell us. What is the cost of correcting these deformities caused by BTS? Sorry, I don't have a plastic surgeon on call. I'm sure you could get a ballpark figure by doing a Gooogle search, however. For one surgery? - Sure. The relevant figure would be to determine how many surgeries are being caused by the campaign. I'm betting it is low. SInce you are the one claiming it is not worth it then I am sure you won't mind digging out those figures. I'd say "up to 48%" of kids having misshapen heads, even if the deformities aren't permanent, speaks for itself. What does it say? To me it says that a lot parents have been appropriately counselled to try to turn the kid but not to get worked up about some mild asymmetry. As I pointed out in my other post - the real joke here is that for ages you have been screaming about how the advice the AAP gives should be obvious to any idiot. Now you are claiming that 48% of parents are idiots. You can't have it both ways. If so many parents are so stupid then the AAP is justified in giving such obvious advice. The simple measures suggested in the article (prone while awake/observed, rotating 180 degrees in the crib) are, IMO, common sense--yet apparently almost half of "Back to Sleep" parents haven't employed them (or asked their kid's caregiver to employ them). OTOH, maybe they ARE aware of them, and simply think Jr.'s misshapen head is endearing, right? Uh-huh. Yeah... No - maybe they are employing them but they don't work 100%. I hear about kids that prefer to sleep with their heads to one side all the time but you and Roger are the only two parents I have ever heard claim their kids would not sleep well supine. Perhaps that is because I counsel my patients from early on and so the kids become accustomed to supine sleeping from early on whereas you and Rog never really bought into the whole concept (and probably took a perverse pleasure in not following the standard advice). Remember, you still have not shown that there is a significant problem. The 48% figure indicates nothing since that does not tell us how many of these kids will even have a noticeable asymmetry when older, much less undergo surgery or teasing. Before you lambaste 48% of the parents for their poor choices/parenting you need to show that they are doing something wrong. Maybe they can and they just don't come tot he same conclusions as you. Yup. Gee, and to think there are some parents who just can't cope with having kids, so they come to the conclusion that they'll simply off them. I'm not sure I see the connection. Surely you abnit that it is possible for a well adjusted, sane intelligent parent to come to different conclusions than you did? -- CBI, MD |
#6
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Infant flat skulls can be avoided: U.S. doctors
"JG" wrote
I'd say "up to 48%" of kids having misshapen heads, even if the deformities aren't permanent, speaks for itself. Yes. Plus delayed development, less sound sleep, less sleep for the moms, etc. The BS campaign was a bad idea. |
#7
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Infant flat skulls can be avoided: U.S. doctors
"JG" wrote in message t... "Roger Schlafly" wrote in message ... "JG" wrote Another article for the "Well, DUH!" file. Amazing how some people manage to walk without someone else (a physician?) telling them It seems obvious, but a lot of people have trouble distinguishing the good pediatrician advice from the ungrounded goofy opinions. Apparently: "Up to 48 percent of infants develop the deformity." This certainly doesn't bode well for our country's future, does it? It looks like we have a generation ("GenX"?) that hasn't been taught to question "expert" advice and to think, *at all*, for themselves. No wonder so many didn't even blink at WJC's "It depends what 'is' is," or when Congress passed the USA Patriot Act. You mean like people who have, say a Ph.D. in mathematics and have "FAQs" about vaccines? Or about people who claim to be experts in nutrition while trying to sell a vitamin drink or other useless concoction. Or, how about a group of physicians who went to college for 4 years, then med school for 4 years and then 3 or more years of residency. And base their beliefs largely on information that has been published in peer-reviewed journals? Gee, so whom should one believe for expert advice on the care of children? Someone who is a board-certified pediatrician or an outstanding mathematical theorist? All the best, Jeff There are other drawbacks to putting babies on their backs. Nowadays, a lot of babies never even learn to crawl. Yeah, something else a whole generation won't learn... |
#8
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Infant flat skulls can be avoided: U.S. doctors
"JG" wrote in message t... "Mark" wrote in message om... "JG" wrote in message et... Another article for the "Well, DUH!" file. Amazing how some people manage to walk without someone else (a physician?) telling them (headphones?) how ("Left foot...right foot...left foot...right foot...left foot..."). Is a slightly flattened back of the head (aka: positional plagiocephaly) dangerous to brain development? Overwhelmingly, no. Some flattened-head cases, however (e.g., those severe enough to require corrective helmets), could conceivably hamper *social* development if allowed to go unchecked. With all the concern about "bullying" these days, I'd advise parents, especially those reluctant to encourage their kids to defend themselves, to try to have their kids look as "normal" as possible. What is normal? And what percent of kids does this affect? All the best, Jeff |
#9
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Infant flat skulls can be avoided: U.S. doctors
"Elizabeth Reid" wrote in message om... "JG" wrote in message et... Another article for the "Well, DUH!" file. Amazing how some people manage to walk without someone else (a physician?) telling them (headphones?) how ("Left foot...right foot...left foot...right foot...left foot..."). How many fights do you imagine this one little piece of advice--"Back to Sleep"--has caused? Husband: "Aaah, honey? The back of Bubba's head is gettin' as flat as a pancake. Whaddaya say we let him sleep on his belly for a while to see if it helps?" Wife (in a high-pitched, panicky voice): "NO! !! No, no, no, no, NO! He'll DIE of SIDS if we do that! Dr. Imdeexpert said babies should sleep on their BACKS! So what if Bubba looks like some sorta weird doofus; at least he's ALIVE!!") Right. How ridiculous. I'd much rather my son live fast, die young, and leave a beautiful corpse. A round head would look so much nicer in the last pictures I'd ever have of him. (As it happens, he never had any flattening problems, although he did have a bald spot on the back of his head for a while. The horror!) From what I've read, in the majority of cases the flattening resolves itself over time. Even if it didn't, though, what possible implications would this have for 'our country's future'? We have more kids grow into adults? Millions spent on hat redesign, plunging us into an economic crisis? Hat redesign? If hats were flexible enough to fit around a kid's ears if he pulls it a little to far, I am sure they will conform to the shape of the skull well enough. But it does sound like a good niche market. Increased incidence of mosquito-borne illness because the little vampires have a nice flat surface to fasten upon? Round-headed aliens arrive and exterminate us all because they think we look silly? What's the doomsday scenario here? An imagined problem, flat back of heads. I think there are decent reasons to ignore the recommendation, and obviously the risk to any one child is probably low. Fear of flat-headedness is silly though. I think Roger should call this fear "goofy", at least when compared to real fears, like increased risk of death. All the best, Jeff Beth Sam 8/16/2002 |
#10
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Infant flat skulls can be avoided: U.S. doctors
"Jeff Utz" wrote
Gee, so whom should one believe for expert advice on the care of children? Not someone who thinks that deformed heads, poor sleep, and delayed development are all ok. |
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