Assume a three week old infant is diagnosed with DDH, or hip dysplasia, and is to wear a Pavlik’s harness for four months. What can we expect?
This may not be a GQ; it may be seeking anecdotal reassurance. I’ve read stuff but I can’t make sense of it right now. Any help is appreciated.
I have zero personal experience here, but I do have a friend who was born with this condition and had to wear such a harness. She is a happy, healthy 30-year-old now, who did gymnastics in high school and does yoga now, and says that once in a great while, her hip will pop out of joint during sex. She and her husband are currently starting to plan a family and just told me yesterday that she needs to talk to her doctor before she gets pregnant to find out if she may be prone to any significant difficulty or problems during pregnancy or delivery.
There is probably someone here on the SDMB who has more personal experience with this and will have more useful information for you, but if no one does, or you just want additional reassurance, I would be happy to ask my friend anything you like.
My daughter was diagnosed with a mild case; she didn’t have to wear the harness but I did have to double diaper her for the first few months to put her hips in the right angle I guess; after the four month check-up her doctor said she was okay and we could drop the double diapers. She is eleven now and has had no further problems with her hips; she does gymnastics and karate, runs, swims, rides her bike, skateboard etc.
Sounds like “not too bad” on the list of Things To Worry About With Kids. But how does this happen? Is it a genetic thing? Would you expect that subsequent kids would have the same problem? Is it mostly girls? Does it hurt?
I had a mild/moderate case as a baby caused, they say, because my mother’s internal pelvic measurement was too narrow and my pelvis was squished oddly on one side. (You’d never guess it to look at her hips on the outside! Sorry, Mom.) I had to wear this odd shoes-nailed-to-a-board contraption while I slept until I was 3 or so. About twice a year in grade school my hip would ache badly enough that my mom would let me stay home, although honestly sometimes I milked it a little more than was strictly necessary. I danced in high school, and was a good sprinter, 'though sports were never my thing, so that wasn’t an issue for me. Now that I’m 32 and overweight, I do have to be a little careful of how I put on my shoe, or my hip HURTS like you wouldn’t believe as it tries to slip out and the muscles spasm to stop it. But generally speaking, it hasn’t affected my quality of life. I don’t think even my husband knows about it, it affects me so little.
There’s a huge chance she’ll grow and develop out of it. The body doesn’t always grow symmetrically, and lots of babies are a bit lopsided for a few months. There are good surgical options available now if she doesn’t grow out of it. IF it becomes an issue for you guys, I highly recommend you look into Shriners Hospitals for Children . They’re one of the most specialized orthopedic hospitals around with amazing patient and family care, and you don’t have to worry about bills. (If you have insurance, they’ll bill it, but any costs not covered by your insurance are free, including follow up care until she’s 18. Really. You don’t even have to be poor - they’re a charity not based on need.)
My sister had to wear something similar when she was a baby. Actually, first she had to wear a cast for a while. (My mom says they just handed her my sister, in a cast from the waist down, and let her figure out what to do about diapers.) Then she wore a metal brace after that. Both the cast and the brace held her legs apart similar to the Pavlik harness (I Googled it). She learned to crawl by swinging her hips back and forth, legs splayed behind her in the brace. Her first pair of (bronzed) baby shoes was also significantly larger than mine, because she was much older before she got to wear shoes; that was how we told them apart.
I don’t know the exact name of her condition, but she was quite gymnastic as a kid and is still pretty bendy.
My sister had that shoes-and-board thing that WhyNot describes, as well, but I was only 5 then, so I guess I never quite got what it was for. She is 35 now, and doesn’t seem to have any trouble at all.
My brother had the shoes on a board (actually, on a steel rod.) Apparently, his feet were curled inward when he was born. Don’t know the medical term–pronation?
He wore it for about 6 weeks, beginning a week or 2 after birth. Side effect? His feet were very ticklish when the shoes came off. He’s now a 6’4" healthy middle aged guy. Played basketball in school.
I had to look up hip dysplasia on wikipedia, and then go from there to orthoseek.com to see what else they said (the wikipedia entry is mostly about dogs).
The reason is because I was born with a dislocated hip, which is one of the diagnoses that doctors might use instead of hip dysplasia, apparently. However, I get the impression that in my case it was a dislocation due to birth as opposed to a genetic condition. Either way, my recollection of my treatment sounds similar to some of the posts in this thread.
There are tons of pictures of Baby Liz in an actual plaster cast from waist to ankles, with a hatch in the butt. 
I feel very sorry for my parents, who had to figure out the plumbing in that thing, plus bathtime, and all the assorted baby stuff. They had a stroller with homemade stops made from pegs to stop me sliding out. I’m not sure, but I may have just worn socks while in that thing - the baby booties my mother has (and which she used for all 2-3 of us kids) look reasonably normal-sized to my inexperienced eye.
As my parents told me the story several times when I was little, they took Baby Liz to an excellent surgeon for the operation at a hospital near them in Canada. The procedure involved cutting a ligament in my groin and and then popping my hip back into place. Then they plastered me up until my body could heal and the muscles/ligaments got stronger.
My hip still clicks on occasion when I move, and I’m almost 30, but other than the click, I’m in good shape and don’t have any discomfort. In high school, I lettered several times as a member of the swim team. Let’s see… I tend to have a ‘going places!’ kind of stride, and I can wear four inch heels without any problem other than wanting to kill people after a few hours in 'em, but that’s pretty normal for high heels.
This made me curious as to why my sister had hers, so I just called my mom. Apparently, her hips were too loose/flexible, and they put the brace on so the bones grow & harden in the right way (mom didn’t remember the technical terms for it). I remember when my daughter was an infant, a big part of the doctor’s checkups was manipulating the legs around, I guess to be sure the hips were developing correctly, so this must be relatively common.
My daughter had this, was diagnosed at the same age, and was in the harness for 4 months. She is 100% perfect! 
She learned to walk late. I think she was something like 18 months before walking, but apart from that it’s all a blur now 9 years later.
You have nothing to worry about. But keep her in the harness. It’s a royal pain, but well worth it!
My friends’ little boy had this. He was in a cast for a few months. (Actually a few casts, they kept getting replaced as he grew.) They didn’t leave the house much because he didn’t fit in a car seat very well.
Now he’s in his terrible two’s going a million miles and hour no worse for wear. You would never know there was anything wrong with him.
Good luck.
I had that (here’s a picture of me with the harness). I’m 20 now and haven’t had any further problems (I’m hopelessly unathletic, but I don’t think it’s because of that).
My son wore a Pavlik for 2 months right after he was born. I cried buckets the day we brought him home in it, he seemed so uncomfortable to me all drawn up like that, but the Dr. assured me it bothered me more than it bothered the baby. And it seems the Dr. was right, my son never acted like he was bothered by it. He had to be followed by a pediatric orthopedist until he was 3…no surgery, just X-rays every couple of months. He’s 12 now, and he skateboards and plays any sport he wants…he’s fine. I still have his Pavlik, and we laugh about it now.
It’ll be ok!
Hey, is that your niece? Congratulations, Auntie Campion!
My 3-yr-old son had to wear one of those harnesses for a couple of months, I’d completely forgotten about the whole thing. Apparently his sister was squashing him in utero; I think his problem had more to do with his knee than his hip, but I can’t even remember. He hasn’t had any further problems at all.
Runs in my family as well. My brother’s daughter had the brace. My daughter was in traction right after birth, which was a pathetic sight. She had to wear the brace and had corrective shoes for a few years, but was fine, getting into gymnastics, competitive swimming and basketball during her school years.
My wife just wrote a review article on the research in this field. Her quick answer, “If it’s caught relatively easily, everything will work out fine. Surgery is the worst case.”
If it is not caught early, things don’t always work out fine. If it is diagnosed early, things are usually okay.
Thanks, everyone.
That’s her! She’s one of the two cutest babies in the world (the other one being, of course, my other niece, who was born three weeks before her – it’s a tight competition!).
It apparently affects about 2% of babies, and the risk factors are things like first baby, girl baby, big baby. Well, this little one is a first baby, a girl, and clocked in around 9 pounds. It also appears it’s just one of those things that happens – a bit of the body doesn’t quite finish growing right. Apparently, if she stays in the harness, it will put her hip bone in the right place, her body will figure out, “hey – we need a bigger socket here!” and will grow one on its own.
Anyway, I’m a control freak and wanted more information, particularly because (even though I’m utterly tactless and insensitive) I figured I shouldn’t quiz my sister about this. Talk, yes. Interrogate, no.
It’s comforting to hear that this is (relatively) common and fixable. I think the worst part may be what some people mentioned, having to figure out diaper changes and sponge baths and car seats with the brace on and the legs in a froggy position.
