Ahead4babies

17 Harben Parade Finchley Rd, London, NW3 6JP Directions

Business overview

Ahead4Babies is the only UK-based clinic where craniofacial surgeons offer advice and treatment for misshapen baby heads. Plagiocephaly (“skewed-head syndrome”) and brachycephaly (“flat-head syndrome”) can both be treated with a helmet.

Our consultant surgeons have treated thousands of infants with head deformities over the past twenty years, and were pioneers in helmet therapy (CRANIO helmet) in the United Kingdom.

Please click on our surgeons page for biographies.

We use a Canfield Vectra 3D Imaging System to capture a 3D image of your baby’s head. Fifteen digital cameras take images at the same time, giving 100% accuracy. (Since digital cameras take these images, there is no need for a laser, and there is no radiation.) The images can then be used to custom make helmets, as well as to compare head shapes before and after treatment.

Although Ahead4Babies is based in central London, we have treated babies from as far afield as Bangladesh, Kenya, Ireland, France and Egypt.

Misshapen heads can arise for different reasons. They can be caused by premature fusion of the skull sutures (craniosynostosis). This condition is rare and often needs surgical correction, which is why our surgeons are eminently qualified to diagnose it. In contrast, positional changes are much more common.

Positional plagiocephaly (“skewed-head syndrome”) and brachycephaly (“flat-head syndrome”) are caused by external pressure on the skull. Because they occur after the baby has been born, and because they are different to birth-related deformities, they may not improve by themselves.

The increased incidence of plagiocephaly is largely due to the “Back to Sleep” campaign, designed to reduce the incidence of “cot death”. Since 1994, many paediatric associations have been recommending back sleeping positioning as a means of avoiding Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

Products & Services

baby clinics

Flat Head

Flat Head Syndrome

Flat Head in Babies

Plagiocephaly

Brachycephaly

Helmet Therapy

Helmet Therapy for Babies

Craniofacial surgeon

Oral and Maxillofacial surgeon

Reviews

Very disappointing experience

1
I cannot comment on the quality of the consultants as despite my persistence I was unable to book an appointment. My review is based on my experience front-of-house. Despite being told that I would be able to have my daughter assessed, I was told that there was "actually nothing wrong with her" but she could be seen because we have insurance. Agi was extremely rude and dismissive, cancelling appointments and suggesting that I was difficult for not being able to make the one appointment she offered. I had explained to her that I have three babies under 18 months and no childcare support at the moment and so getting all three babies to an 8am appointment would be unlikely. This is not the quality of care or professionalism I would expect.
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Exceptional

5
I can't be thankful enough that we found and went ahead with treatment for our son at Ahead4Babies. The staff were professional and helpful and we were able to contact Agi at any time. We felt more comfortable with treatment here as the consultants are all cranial surgeons; Mr Stenhouse in particular is fantastic. He presented the facts and answered all our questions with no pressure at any stage to go ahead. We did of course and the outcome is absolutely amazing.
Many thanks.
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Excellent, Professional Service

5
Both surgeons at Ahead4babies were fabulous, along with the excellent support offered by Ági via phone and whatsapp.
At no stage did we feel pressured into getting a helmet. We were offered really specific advice in order to try to things to avoid the process. I am a twin Mum & for one twin, it worked (yay!) but for the other, whilst it prevented it getting significantly worse, it didn't improve with the various "tactics" we tried! We decided at 14mm (down from 15mm after 5.5 weeks of diligent repositioning), we needed to proceed with the helmet for our oldest twin who had not improved naturally. We started the process at 4 months old & wore it for 12 weeks, with quite a bit of time (totally probably 2 weeks) which we were unable to wear the helmet for due to various illnesses/hospital admissions for other things. We saw jaw dropping results significantly quickly! Whilst it meant regular adjustments, which the whole Ahead4babies team were extremely accommodating for. Highly recommend.
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Very happy

5
Very professional and helpful staff including surgeon who gives you all postive and negative aspects about the treatment so you can make an educated decision whether you go ahead or not. Our baby had helmet for 5months and we managed to fix the shape of his head from severe category to almost zero variance. And he didn't mind the helmet at all, only on very hot days we had to check he doesn't sweat too much. Definitely recommend but the sooner you start the treatment the better (we started when he was 5 months old).
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Baby helmets

5
I was concerned about my daughter's head shape and booked for a private consultation at two different clinics on Harley Street. I would advise anyone who is concerned about their child's head shape to go straight to Ahead4babies because your child will be seen by a highly experienced surgeon, rather than a 'sales' person with fancy brochures and no medical training. I went to the glorified sales clinic first and left convinced my daughter needed a helmet. However, when Mr Christoph Huppa at Ahead4Babies assessed her and took measurements, he determined she did not need a helmet! Don't waste your time or money going anywhere else- have your child assessed by someone who has the necessary medical training, not a glorified sales person! Go to Ahead4babies.
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