Upset-Hip Dysplasia- Any Advice

[justthestart]

Hello,

I have just been for a hip ultrasound with my daughter who is 4 and a half weeks old and they have diagnosed hip dysplasia and have said she needs to go back next week to be fitted with a harness which she is going to need to wear 24 hours a day for a few months.
They have said that 90% of cases are cured from doing this which I am optimistic about but I am worried about the harness.

I just wondered if anyones babies have had to have one fitted and if anyone can offer any advice?

Firstly is it going to hurt her?

Will i have to buy bigger clothes for her so they fit under it?

Can you tell that she will be wearing one if you didn't know?

This is a vanity question- but I have bought her lots of gorgeous little outfits, like leggings and things, will she be able to wear them or will they not fit?

Does anyone have any success stories?

How long did your baby have to wear it for?

Any advice/stories would be really appreciated- I am upset and worried about it all and the doctor didnt really give us that much information.

 

[aliss]

Aw hun I am so sorry I did not have it nor my baby, but my mother did. That was 50 years ago though when they did full body casts on infants and not the harness so I can't really answer your questions, just wanna give some

As for success stories, well she did end up getting a hip replacement at 37 (obviously technology in 1959 wasn't as good so she needed more work done) and she's now 51, lifts weights at the gym every day and is a runner! So I'm sure your girl will be just fine, good luck

 

[binxyboo]

I don't know much about hip dysplasia (apart from we needed to get Daniel scanned as he had clicky hips, but didn't need further treatment) but I do know the most common harness is the Pavlik harness.
It looks like this
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Pavlik.jpg

 

[yourstruly10]

Hey there. I'm sorry to hear what your going through. I honestly don't know anything about the brace but I had hip displaysia as a baby and I am 100% fine now.I don't know what they did when I was a baby(my mom and I aren't really on speaking terms otherwise I'd ask) but I just wanted you to know that I ended up just fine. No hip problems what so ever. Had a repeat scan at 18 when my body had reach it's full development and everything was normal. I also had no problems giving birth to my daughter. Sorry I can't offer much advice. Hope this helps a bit.

 

[Rola]

Hi there. I don't really have much advice but just wanted to say that I had this when I was born and was in a harness for 6 months and I've never had any problems with my hips. I also had to be put on my front to sleep because of the harness. x

 

[QueSeraSera]

Hi there! My daughter had the same diagnosis and has just come out of the harness about 2 weeks ago. I am more that willing to answer any of your questions or if you nees someone to just talk to. I know that when the doctor explained to us what was going to happen with the harness and everything, I was nervous, scared, upset, wanting to get another opinion...But it honestly wasnt so bad and it all turned out really well. So, I'll answer the questions you listed in the OP:

Firstly is it going to hurt her? It doesnt hurt at all. Audrey was really annoyed with it at first because it restricts movements and she is a very active baby, always kicking and such. What the harness does is keep the hips at a 90 degree bend at all times and rotates them slightly outward. This location promotes correct bone development of the hip socket. The first few days were rough, I wont lie. She was used to being able to move and kick and then she was restricted. I was still on mat leave at the time and I just devoted every second to her. I held her and we had lots of cuddle time. Just made her felt that mommy was here for her and that we would get through it together. After a couple of days she just sort of accepted the new change and wasnt as annoyed by it.
(tip: make sure not to put the straps on too tight...the doctor who fitted her put them on pretty tight and it was cutting into the fat rolls on her legs, so I immediately loosened them. Also, the straps can tend to rub the backs of the legs and under the arms, so I got moleskin, the stuff runners put on their feet to avoid blisters, and placed in on the straps where it was rubbing)

Will i have to buy bigger clothes for her so they fit under it? We live in Hawaii, so luckily for us the weather wasnt an issue. We just kept her in onesies the whole time. She was (and still is to a certain extent) in newborn clothes and so I just used all the newborn ones I had. A couple times when we went somewhere I knew it would be cold, I put pants on under the harness too...this just makes diaper changes more difficult. I found that the the more tight fitting pants were better because they had less opportunity to bunch up under the straps.

Can you tell that she will be wearing one if you didn't know? Yes, it is worn over the clothes. If you were to put it under the clothes directly next to the skin, it would rub a whole lot more. Over Christmas and New Years and for church on sundays, However, I would put a plain onesie on, then the harness, and then a dress over the harness (I had to use 0-3mo dress though because the newborn size wouldnt fit over the harness)

This is a vanity question- but I have bought her lots of gorgeous little outfits, like leggings and things, will she be able to wear them or will they not fit? I did the same thing and was very upset that she wouldnt be able to wear them. Lucky for us, she is a skinny little baby and still wears a lot of her newborn clothes and some 0-3mo stuff. So she didnt outgrow anything, but she didnt wear much of the fancy stuff while in the harness (except for what I told you about the dresses) Technically you can put anything under the harness, it can just get bulky and it it bunches up next to her skin I suppose it could hurt or be annoying..

Does anyone have any success stories? Her hips started with angles in the low 50s and after the 4 weeks were in the high 60s/low 70s. This was enough improvement for the doctor to allow her to come out of it and we just ahve to come back for periodic checks to make sure that they condition doesnt redevelop. We got used to her wearing it and it just becomes routine...its really not as bad as it seems at first. I figured out how to BF, swaddle, do all the normal things we were doing before the brace.

How long did your baby have to wear it for? Audrey was in it for 4 weeks and 3 days

Tips: Ask your doctor to give you two harnesses...they get dirty really quickly and so youll want to be able to switch them out to wash them. Also, try to keep the harness on as much as possible...I talked to some people who took their baby out for an hour a day to stretch, and their time in the brace was much longer than Audrey's. We only took her out for a bath every other day and for clothing changes. We even changed her diaper with it on...though you wouldnt be able if you were putting pants on the LO. Also, the contraption is confusing with all the stranps and such... I never undid all the straps, or it can be hard to get it all back on right. To take it off I would undo the straps around her legs and simply slide her leg up and out of the leg harness without undoing the strap that connects to the chest strap. If you undo every strap every time you change clothes and such, youll forever be trying to make sure its all back together properly.

Hope this all helped! And, like I said, you can feel free to ask me anything you are wondering about or just talk if you need to. You and your LO will get through this, and the time will go by faster than you think. In the end youll be happy that they caught the problem early and that youre probably avoiding hip problems in the future!

Here are a couple pictures of my LO in the harness, in the dress she is wearing the harness underneath and you really cant tell:

https://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f121/shananana85/img_5629.jpg https://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f121/shananana85/img_5723.jpg https://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f121/shananana85/img_5713.jpg

 

[justthestart]

Does anyone else have any advice?

 

[Sharris]

I was diagnosed with hip displaysia as a baby and spent time in traction, had to wear a half body cast for a while, and then a metal brace with scary sharp strap closures. I had a fairly severe case, I was born without a hip socket and they had to put a metal plate in my leg to carve out a socket. There are many different severities and to my knowledge are all treatable. I had to go back to the Dr. for followup visits every other year until I turned 18, but

 

[Sharris]

** I'm sure I was annoyed with it as a child, I heard many stories of mishaps, trial and error, and funny happenings... and I still wouldn't change it for anything. If my parents hadn't opted for the surgery, I simply wouldn't be able to walk today. I have hip pain from arthritis I have developed over time but again, a little pain is fine with me to be able to walk I don't know if this helps, but the only thing else I can say is keep your chin up and be confident that you are doing the best thing for your child!

 

[Tink81]

I was born with hip displasia, and have recently found out I have a connective tissue disorder which would have made this problem worse, my little bean goes for her scan on her hips on Friday so I'm keeping my fingers crossed everything will be ok. I had no lasting issues from having it as a baby, my mum said I had a cast on to keep my legs in the correct position, however this led my to have my feet turned in so I spent the first years of my life with my shoes on the wrong feet to force my feet outwards (the things they did in the 80's) lol.

 

[Sharris]

... I spent the first years of my life with my shoes on the wrong feet to force my feet outwards (the things they did in the 80's) lol...

Don't I know it! I know I sure am thankful for all the technological and medical advances since then! I'll have to take a pic of my brace to show how medieval it looked!

 

[MummytoSummer]

I was born with this and had to wear a harness from 4 weeks old when I was diagnosed until I was 6 months old. My mum said I hated it and she cried the first time she saw me in it as she said it looked so ugly and like it was hurting me but I soon got used to it. Babies are so resilient, more than we think. I expect your lo will be a little annoyed by in for the first couple of days but i doubt it'll last.

My mum said the harness was too bulky to wear under clothes do I wore it on top of my clothes and she said she kept me in baby grows the whole time.

If my mum hadn't told me I'd had it I would never have known, I've not had any issues with my hips whatsoever and I'm now 29.

I had expected the worst with both by daughters when they were scanned at 6 weeks old but thankfully neither of them had any issues which I was surprised about as apparently it's really common if the mother has had it.

X

 

[pandacub]

I dont have any first hand experience, but my cousins had it. They had to have their hips in a cast, so obviously its different now. Just wanted to say they have had no further problems with their hips to this day, im sure your LO will be absolutely fine

 

[RunnerGirl]

Did the doctor tell you the measurements (alpha and beta angles) from the ultrasound? My DD was sent for a screening at 6 weeks because she was in a breech position and delivered via Csection. Her 6 week ultrasound was poor, both hips were mildly displaced. She was referred to a pediatric orthopedist at 10 (12? I don't remember) weeks.

At the 12 week appointment, another ultrasound was done, and both hips had stabilized. She just went today for a 6 month check up xray, and all is well, she will be seen again in 1 year.

The orthopedist was going to send us home in a harness the first day we went to see her, but decided to have that second ultrasound done, just to check if my DDs hips had tightened up on their own. Thankfully, they had, and we avoided any hassle.

Call you pedis office and ask for the report of the ultrasound. Pay particular attention to the alpha and beta angles. I think the alpha angle needs to be greater than 60, one of my DDs was 53, the other 57 at her first U/S, and both hips improved to the 60s by that second U/S.

Good luck, and it is not the *worst* thing that can happen, but it is still really scary because it is your little baby. Hugs, mama.