Ahead4babies

Thank goodness we found you! My son was born with torticollis and, as a result, always slept on one side. We had no idea this would lead to the flattening of his head, especially since no advice was provided post-birth. He was subsequently diagnosed with Plagiocephaly and a 15mm asymmetry (which is classed as moderate). We felt incredibly let down by the initial lack of guidance. While repositioning could have helped in those early weeks, by the time we realised there was an issue, too much time had passed to correct it without intervention. Navigating the next steps was difficult, as we were faced with a plethora of misinformation. We had several NHS and private consultations, but no one could categorically tell us that a helmet would fix it. The "party line" from the NHS is that they don’t work, but I can now categorically say that is simply not true! We initially met with a different helmet company but got cold feet when they couldn't guarantee the results, they estimated a "best-case" improvement of only 9mm. Following a discussion with Bassel Zebian, a Paediatric Neurosurgeon at King's College Hospital, he recommended we see Dr. Stenhouse at Ahead4babies. After discovering that two of our friends had also used them, we felt reassured enough to reach out. From the very first phone call, we were sold. They were clear about what to expect, answered all our questions, and confirmed they could get the asymmetry down to 0mm. Knowing the clinic is run by craniofacial surgeons gave us total peace of mind that we were in good hands. Dr. Stenhouse, who carried out our son’s...

It was good

My son had a moderate right-sided plagiocephaly. We contacted the NHS and various other clinics that weren't very helpful. We found Dr Stenhouse and Ahead4babies online. What intrigued us to book was that he is a maxillofacial surgeon. We couldn't have been happier with our choice! From the get go Dr Stenhouse and his team were very informative and transparent which inspired us to go ahead with the treatment. We are super happy with the treatment results as we are now nearing completion roughly 2½ months after visiting the clinic for the first time. Our son's head now has normal shape. As a medical professional myself, I honestly couldn't recommend this place enough. If your child has a flat head this is the place to go. To Dr Stenhouse & team, thank you very much for all the help and support. We are eternally grateful for taking care of our little Adam! :)

Amazing experience with this company. Very factual and not at all pushy at the beginning, and very supportive. Any concerns I had with my son adjusting to the helmet, and then later when I felt he was growing out of it were dealt with very quickly and very reassuringly. I would 100% recommend anyone who has any concerns with their baby’s head shape and feel they want to go down the helmet route to use this company. I am so happy with my son’s head now.

Our entire journey from the initial consultation (we were very apprehensive at the time) to the final appointment, was filled with mixed emotions but overall we were treated with such care and understanding throughout, guided by Agi who was always available if we had any urgent questions. For example when it was hot and my son just refused to wear the helmet as it was causing him to sweat profusely- Agi chatted us through such issues giving us clear step by step guidance. Most importantly of all, our son loved his check-ups and always giggled when he was examined! He adapted very quickly to the helmet (he was 4 months old at the time of fitting) and had no issues with it except during the hotter summer months. Helmet was worn from April until August. If you are considering having a helmet fitted, we would say go for the initial consultation and if the asymmetry is obvious to the eye then go for it. We were sceptical about proceeding with the helmet purely due to the fact it was for aesthetic reasons only and felt bad that he would have to sleep in it. But we did not want our son, when older, to ask us why we could have fixed his head shape. He would have had issues wearing bike helmets; hats and even glasses as his ears were misaligned - he had 14mm asymmetry. This glimpse into his future erased any doubts we had. There is also the issue of strangers do not know or understand so be prepared for staring eyes! You’ll quickly ignore like we did so please don’t give their ignorance a second thought!

I am extremely grateful to Agi and Mr. Philip Stenhouse for giving me the opportunity to take my baby to be assessed. They were both very professional and so kind. After being in 2 other clinics, I was still very worried about my baby’s head so I decided I needed a third opinion. Since the very first moment I spoke with Agi on the phone to book the appointment I knew my baby was going to be in good hands - Agi is not only a great professional but also an amazing human being, that truly cares for people. Thank you so much Agi and Mr. Stenhouse for all you’ve done to help us. I couldn’t recommend head4babies enough!