Chrissy Teigen Fights Off Mom-Shamers After Sharing Photo of Her Son's Corrective Helmet
Like many young children, Chrissy Teigen and John Legend’s 6-month-old son, Miles, got a corrective helmet to address his plagiocephaly. “Baby miles getting fitted for a little helmet today for his adorable slightly misshapen head,” Teigen tweeted on Monday. “So if you see pictures, don’t feel bad for him because he’s just fixing his flat and honestly he’s probably gonna be even cuter with it somehow.”
baby miles getting fitted for a little helmet today for his adorable slightly misshapen head. so if you see pictures, don't feel bad for him because he's just fixing his flat and honestly he's probably gonna be even cuter with it somehow
— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) December 3, 2018
Many people responded positively to her tweet, sharing with her images of their own children wearing corrective helmets.
What a great thread you started for all of these adorable pics of kids with helmets! ❤
— Dani King (@DanielleJKing) December 3, 2018
However, not everyone responded positively. Teigen addressed mom-shamers head-on in a tweet, making it clear Teigen and Legend came to the decision with input from medical professionals familiar with their son.
“Good morning trolls! Just a friendly reminder that you do not indeed know absolutely everything,” she wrote. Teigen explained they saw a physiotherapist and, “didn’t just go straight to helmet. We tried muscle work and will continue.”
Good morning trolls! Just a friendly reminder that you do not indeed know absolutely everything. Miles has been seeing a physiotherapist – we didn’t just go straight to helmet. We tried muscle work and will continue. Also your flat headed kid turned out fine yes yes yes I agree
— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) December 4, 2018
Just didn’t want you guys to see pictures and wonder. Not promoting anything. Just sharing our story! Thank you back to your bridge now.
— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) December 4, 2018
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAC), about one in four U.S. infants has some degree of positional plagiocephaly. Plagiocephaly has increased since 1994 when sleep guidelines for babies changed to prevent sudden infant death syndrome. The “Back to Sleep” campaign in 1994 encouraged all parents to put their babies to sleep on their back.
The AAC states that, “management of positional skull deformation is nonsurgical and involves ruling out craniosynostosis and determining the timing and need for intervention such as physical therapy or helmet orthosis.” Repositioning an infant can provide some degree of correction, however, most studies suggest, “a properly fitted helmet orthosis corrects asymmetry more rapidly and to a greater degree than repositioning.” This is especially effective when helmet therapy is done during early infancy.
According to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, the optimal age to correct plagiocephaly with helmet therapy is between 3 to 6 months and usually lasts only 12 weeks.
For parents whose children need a corrective helmet, there are now many artists and creative parents who decorate, turning it into something positive.
Banner image via Instagram.
Ellen Stumbo is the founder of Disability Matters, an organization with the mission to encourage every church to embrace disability. Ellen is a national speaker who focuses on issues pertaining adoption, faith, disability and parenting kids with disabilities. Ellen writes for several online platforms including Focus on the Family, LifeWay, MomSense, Not Alone, Mamapedia, Group, The Mighty and the Huffington Post. Her writing also appears in several book anthologies. Ellen blogs at ellenstumbo.com and you can also find her on Twitter and Facebook.
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