I was overjoyed to be pregnant – as I gave birth I knew something was wrong but doctors ignored me
A MUM has shared her terrifying ordeal after noticing there was something wrong with her baby after he was born.
Jessica Corner, 36, says she tried to watch her little boy, Oliver, sleep peacefully but couldn’t, spotting he looked different than expected.
The primary school teacher had been overjoyed during her pregnancy with her fiancé, James, 44.
The pair claim that nothing unusual was picked up during their routine scans.
They were advised to have an emergency C-section at only 36 weeks due to the placenta not working properly.
But Jessica, from Rochester, Kent, immediately noticed her baby’s “rugby ball”-looking head after he was born.
She worried that something terrible had happened during labour but doctors weren’t initially concerned.
Jessica said: “I tried to admire him whenever he slept peacefully, but I couldn’t shake the fact that his head looked like a rugby ball.
“My gut feeling was telling me that something was amiss and the shape of his head – elongated at the back and pointed – really bothered me.
“It was agonising for us as parents to go through, as we wanted our little baby to be OK.”
The mum’s anguish grew as Oliver, now two, had issues with hitting his milestones, such as sitting up, crawling and walking.
She said: “When his condition kept getting worse and he was crying for hours on end due to the pain, as well as being unable to sit up unaided, crawl or walk, I couldn’t take it anymore.
“My emotions were all over the place and all I wanted was an answer.”
Initially, due to the premature birth, she was told to massage her baby’s head in a bid to help “reshape” it into place – a suggestion which “horrified” the mum and led her to believe that she was being “fobbed off”.
But when she took Oliver to see another paediatrician for a check-up, he was diagnosed with sagittal craniosynostosis.
The skull is made up of several plates of bone which, when we are born, are not tightly joined together. They slowly fuse.
If the plates fuse together before birth, it causes the skull to be mishapen (craniosynostosis).
In sagittal craniosynostosis, the skull is long from front to back rather than round.
This is usually treated in the first few months of life and children have a good prognosis, says Great Ormond Street Hospital, though there may be some delays in speech and language.
Major surgery
Oliver was referred to have surgery immediately in July 2023 to remove part of and reshape his skull before it was too late.
If her concerns hadn’t been “ignored”, Jessica claims that a simple procedure involving placing a small spring into the skull could have been carried out.
In some cases, it is possible to treat craniosynostosis with a thin, flexible tube that is passed through a small incision in the skull, followed by wearing a specially designed helmet.
Oliver had to go through a gruelling six-hour operation instead.
She said: “It was heartbreaking having to see my little baby go into such an intense surgery with an unknown outcome.
“But I knew that it was best for him – despite the painful wait.
“He had to go through the more invasive procedure where they cut and remove part of the skull due to his age.
“It was crucial for his well-being and development, as if left untreated, he would be at a high risk of brain damage.
“I wasn’t going to let that happen.”
I knew from the day he was born that I had been constantly fobbed off
Jessica
Certain types of craniosynostosis can lead to long-term conditions like learning difficulties, hearing loss and problems with sight.
The plucky tot suffered swelling and discomfort following surgery but recovered quickly.
Now, the mum is hoping to share her son’s story in a bid to raise awareness and to let other parents who are going through a similar situation know that there is a solution.
Jessica said: “I knew from the day he was born that I had been constantly fobbed off.
“He’s now progressing really well and is such a happy, excited little boy.
“His development is on track and his speech has notably improved.
“It’s so important to advocate when you think something could be wrong with your child and I really thank all the doctors involved that have helped.
“It was a traumatic journey, but one that has taught me resilience and how much a mother’s love can really do.”
Alison Herron, director of midwifery at Medway NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We sincerely apologise to Miss Corner for any anxiety and distress she may have experienced.
“We have fully investigated Miss Corner’s concerns and have shared the findings in full with her.
“As a result of this investigation, we have made changes to improve our midwifery training programme and have worked with our midwives to help them reflect on their own practices and to remain vigilant when examining babies.”
Craniosynostosis explained
Craniosynostosis occurs in one out of 2,200 live births in the US and around one in 2,000 births in the UK, making it common, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
The skull consists of several plates of bone.
In newborns, these are separated by flexible, fibrous joints called sutures.
As infants grow and develop, the sutures close, forming a solid piece of bone.
Craniosynostosis is a condition in which the sutures close too early, causing problems with normal brain and skull growth.
Premature closure of the sutures may also cause pressure inside the head to increase.
But the most obvious sign of craniosynostosis is an unusually shaped head.
The NHS says a baby may have a problem like craniosynostosis if:
- Their head is long and narrow, like a rugby ball
- Their forehead is pointy or triangular
- One side of their head is flattened or bulging out
- The soft spot on the top of their head (fontanelle) disappears before they’re one year old
Babies may also have increased irritability, poor feeding, vomiting or developmental delays.
The NHS warns parents to see a GP if they are concerned about the development of their child’s head in terms of its shape and size.
Treatment for craniosynostosis usually involves surgery, but this will depend greatly on the age and type of craniosynostosis the baby has (which also dictates the shape of their head).
Surgery usually involves making a cut across the head, removing and reshaping the affected parts of the skull, and then fixing them back in place.
But in some cases, a less invasive procedure may be suitable.
Certain types of craniosynostosis can lead to long-term conditions like learning difficulties, hearing loss and problems with sight, such as having a lazy eye.
Certain types of craniosynostosis can lead to long-term conditions like learning difficulties, hearing loss and problems with sight, such as having a lazy eye.