A desperate young mother is in a race against time to ensure her baby’s head is not left deformed for the rest of her life.
Shanielle Tawney, 25, from Caringbah in Sydney’s south, gave birth to Adaliya in mid-December last year.
Adaliya weighed 3.023 kg and was a healthy, happy baby. Mother and daughter were able to leave the hospital within 24 hours.
But when she was about a month old, Mrs Tawney noticed that Adaliya could not turn her head to the left and only slept on her right side.
“She was a very tall baby which meant she couldn’t move her head very much in the womb and her neck muscles became very stiff,” Tawney told Daily Mail Australia.
‘That meant she could barely turn her neck to the left, so I had to go to a physio for six months and now we have full range of motion on the left side. But all that time she was lying on her right side has flattened her head on that side.
“I’ve been told that a baby’s head is like Play-Doh. If they sleep on one side and put more pressure on it than the other side, the head can become flat.”
Shanielle Tawney, 25, from Caringbah in Sydney’s south, gave birth to Adaliya in mid-December last year (pictured: mother and daughter together)
Weighing in at 6,600 pounds, Adaliya was a healthy, happy baby and mother and daughter were out of the hospital within 24 hours. But when she was about a month old, Ms. Tawney noticed that Adaliya could not turn her head to the left and only slept on her right side
This is due to a baby’s fontanel, which is the name for the soft spots on a baby’s head where the bone plates that make up the skull have not yet grown together.
It is normal for babies to have these soft spots. They are visible and palpable on the top and back of the head.
Adaliya’s condition, also called deformational plagiocephaly, usually does not affect a baby’s brain development, but if left untreated it can lead to a misshapen face and head.
By varying the position of your baby’s head, you can help him or her balance. However, if this is not possible after four months, a specially shaped helmet is needed.
Adaliya, who is now eight months old, is classed as an ‘extreme’ case, but Mrs Tawney has been told a helmet is not available through Medicare.
Adaliya, who is now eight months old, has a flat side on her head
Her case has been categorised as an ‘extreme’ case, but Ms Tawney has been told a helmet is not available through Medicare
The single mother, who used to work as a cafe manager but now relies on Centrelink, is desperately trying to raise the nearly $3,000 needed to make a helmet for Adaliya, but she only has a three-month window to work.
Mrs Tawne, who a GoFundMe Page to cover the costs, she said she couldn’t tolerate the idea of her daughter not getting the treatment she needed.
“I try not to ignore what happens if I don’t raise the money,” she said.
“I’ve raised $700 so far and I could probably put some of my Centrelink money into it and deprive myself of food. I would do anything for her.”
Adaliya should wear a helmet like the one in the picture, but it costs almost $3,000
Ms Tawney encouraged other mothers to be alert if their baby is on one side, and to act quickly if they discover their baby is on one side.
“Go straight to a private specialist instead of trying to fix it yourself,” she advised.
‘You then have time to save the necessary money, because the treatment can only work in a very short time frame, up to a maximum of 18 months.
‘It“It’s actually until the soft spot on their head, the fontanel, closes.”
Deformal plagiocephaly is common, affecting about one in five babies to varying degrees.