According to a Canadian study, the good news about more
parents placing more kids on their backs to sleep is that the rate of SIDS has
indeed declined, as was expected.
The corresponding negative news is that with this new trend,
nearly half of infants are now diagnosed with “flat heads”, that is, a
flattening of the skull because the bones in an infants skull are so soft and
malleable.
Happily, most flat heads disappear with time, although a few
cases are permanent, but all flat heads, even those that resolve spontaneously,
will cause at least some consternation for the parents until the situation
resolves.
Usual lesson here: the Law of Unintended Consequences says
that for every good response to some change, there will be – at least one,
often many – unintended negative consequence.
