Watch : Babies With Flat Heads On The Rise

Cases of "flattened head" in infants and young children appear to be on the rise, a new study of babies in Texas indicates.Adolescent Medicine shows that the number of infants and young children with plagiocephaly, or a flat head, has increased nine fold from three per 10,000 births to 28 per 10,000 births between 1999 to 2007.The report attributes the rise to more parents putting their babies to sleep on their backs, which was recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics in 1992 to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome.

Dr. Robert Tibesar, a craniofacial surgeon at Children's Hospital, says the exact number of children in Minnesota coming with abnormally shaped heads is heard to track but he believes the number is also on the rise, though for a different reason.

"Now we're seeing it. Pediatricians, family practice doctors, nurse practitioners, primary care providers are very much aware of this condition. Parents are bringing it up because they're reading more of it online.

They have friends in their mother or parents group that has a child wearing a helmet so parents are more aware of it," he said. Dr. Robert Tibesar, a craniofacial surgeon at Children's Hospital, says the exact number of children in Minnesota coming with abnormally shaped heads is heard to track but he believes the number is also on the rise, though for a different reason.



"Now we're seeing it. Pediatricians, family practice doctors, nurse practitioners, primary care providers are very much aware of this condition. Parents are bringing it up because they're reading more of it online. They have friends in their mother or parents group that has a child wearing a helmet so parents are more aware of it," he said.

New mother Heather Will says her son Benjamin was beginning to develop a flat head. She has had him fitted for a helmet to help him correct it. Now, other parents are asking too.