19 Dec 😳 Was your baby born in a frank breech position, legs and feet right up against their face 🤔Been told that baby should get a hip ultrasound to check for hip dysplasia, but the Paediatrician didn’t seem stressed about it, so you didn’t bother to do it
Developmental Dysplasia of the Hips (DDH), refers to a condition where the hip joint does not develop properly in infants and young children. 👶🏻Babies born in the breech position are at a higher risk because the hips are more likely to be in an abnormal position during development. Breech newborns having an estimated incidence of neonatal hip instability ranging from 12% to 24%. 😱Even with normal hip exams, babies born in breech position are typically referred to paediatric orthopaedic surgeons for clinical examination and hip ultrasound to identify patients with more subtle forms of DDH.
The assessment and diagnosis of DDH in newborns are best done within the first 24 hours after birth because baby is usually very sleepy after the birth process. An Expert Paediatric Physiotherapist 🤓who is well trained in assessing DDH will use the Barlow Test and Ortolani Test to assess baby’s hips for DDH. If DDH is suspected, a clinical decision to treat baby’s hips by using a Pavlik Harness will be made in consultation with the Paediatrician. At 6 weeks old, a hip ultrasound will be carried out to assess baby’s hip joint development and to determine if harnessing is still required or not.
😳Research has shown that the 4.3% to 29% of breech infants who, despite normal initial ultrasound findings at 6 weeks old, were diagnosed with dysplasia at four and six months old. The main reason why babies were missed for DDH is due to the variation of accepted parameters of hip acetabular index. The consequences of missing the diagnosis of DDH for baby, is a lifetime of impact on their hip health and ability to walk.
So if your baby had a breech birth, don’t leave it to chance, ring to My Favourite Physio 📱 on (02) 9790 4233 or DM us @myfavouritephysio to book an appointment with one of our Expert Paediatric Physiotherapists 🤓today!
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