Infant head molding: a cultural practice.

Our research indicates that infant head molding, the application of pressure or bindings to cranial bones to alter their shapes, is prevalent among various Caribbean, Latino, European, African American, Asian, and Native American groups. The data emerged during a cross-cultural anthropological study of child care practices. The documentation of the practice of intentional infant cranial molding, specifically during the first year after birth, has far-reaching implications, particularly for those medical personnel assessing children with dysmorphic crania suggestive of idiopathic craniosynostosis and craniostenosis.