When Hannah was born she had mild hip dysplasia. The doctor we dealt with first was awful, she made us feel like bad parents, had no compassion and was down right unpleasant. It made the whole scenario that much harder to deal with.
We had never heard of hip dysplasia in infants. I knew that German Shepherds often had it, but that was the extent of my knowledge. We ended up with another orthopedic surgeon, an amazing man who has changed the way infants and children with hip dysplasia are treated. Hannah was in a Rhino Cruiser Brace for six weeks for 23 hours a day and then another six weeks for night sleeping only.
Hip Dysplasia in infants is common in first born, caucasion, female infants. Other common causes are baby in breech position in labour, c-section birth and Oligohydraminos (lack of intrauterine fluid) - none of which applied to Hannah.
I couldn't find much information online that was supportive or positive. I read so many stories of children that ended up with multiple surgeries to correct the problem, children in casts for months and months, infant's personalities dramatically changing - I found it all totally overwhelming.
Hannah adjusted quickly to her brace, she fussed for the first two days and after that it was a non-issue. It was a longer transition and acceptance period for me than for her. Changing diapers took a little longer, but she was easy to hold, she still fit in the ergo carrier and developed mad ab skills! Once she was out of the brace she was sitting way ahead of schedule. We would get some crazy stares from people so we kept her little legs covered up with a muslin blanket. We were so lucky that her dysplasia corrected so quickly. We will see the orthopedic surgeon at one year, three, six, nine and twelve years of age to follow up and make sure that her hips are still corrected.
2 comments:
My daughter was just diagnosed with hip dysplasia. We don't see the specialist until the 6th. I have been googling this like crazy, and I end up in tears each time! Your post was the first positive one I saw. Thank you for showing me things might be ok!
I had the same experience with googling it, I was constantly in tears and felt so negative about the outcome.
We have good friends who's daughter was also born with dysplasia, more severe than Hannah's. Their little girl wore a Pavlik brace for 6 weeks from birth and is 100% now too.
Good luck with your daughter, I hope her treatment goes quickly.
Kate
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