Immature Hip

My 3 month old DD has just had her second ultrasound that shows she has an immature hip on her left. We are booked in to see a specialist but I have a few questions to those who have had their bubs in harnesses/splints to get a rough idea of what to expect.
How long were they in the harnesses?
How many hours per day do they have to have them on for? 24/7?
Do the babies hate being so restricted?
Does it delay their development in other areas like sitting up?

Knowing what other parents have had to endure may steel me for what is to come for us?
Thanks

It will all depend on how good or bad your bubs' hip is, but this is our story. DD2 was in a pavlik harness from the age of 8 weeks to 6 1/2 months so a total of 4 1/2 months, for her left hip. It was on 24 hours a day which meant she could only have sponge baths for that period of time.

To be totally honest with you, she didn't seem to care at all, but it was very emotional for us seeing her like that. And it was hard to start with trying to come up with breastfeeding positions. But once we all got the hang of it, it wasn't that bad really. As I said, just emotional. I know others who have had their bubs go straight into plaster which was probably harder, especially given the weight of it. Also, my DD rolled the very first night she got her harness off so I don't believe it impacted her development. She has just started walking at 18 months of age, but given my eldest DD didn't walked until 16 months I was still impressed! My DD was given the all clear at her 12 months xray.

In case you have to go into a harness, here are a few tips that I discovered along the way :-
- we cold only wear dresses so on cold days we used leg warmers
- I had to put an extra cover in her car seat as I can't remember the number of times she pooed everywhere while in it (I think it must have been to do with the pressure of the seat while her legs were in that position)
- tummy time can still easily be achieved
- nappy free time can also be done, but I used to tie plastic nappy bags over the harness leg areas in case of pooping accidents!

If you have any other particular questions don't hesitate to ask. I always think it's good to be prepared! Good luck with everything, keep us posted.

My DD had a hip problem as well, but she wasnt in braces.
Took her to the specialist and he told me to double nappy her (have the normal disposable nappy, then a cotton nappy on top of that) he said it keeps their legs in one position so their hips can mature. My DD had mild hip dyslapsia (dont know how to spell it). But if you bubs is more serious, then its the harness.
My DD was in her double nappy from 6weeks old for 2 months.

Hope its going well for you!

Hi, my now nearly 5yr old daughter was diagnosed with Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip (DDH) at 11 months old. She was double and triple nappied for 3 months, but her ped ortho surgeon Dr Geoff Donald at the Royal Childrens Hospital Brisbane didn't like how there was no improvement, she was then booked in for a proximal femoral osteotomy, but ended up having a closed reduction, 3 months of a spica cast, 4 months 24/7 rhino bracing and then 3 months part time bracing and then now to monitoring. In all honesty as already mentioned she handled it so so well. I on the other hand was a basket case. She had her treatment in qld summer but still was fine. Sorry I'm on the run to pick up my daughter from school, but I'm happy to answer any questions via my email it's vidots@gmail.com or you can get heaps of answers for a group I created some years ago that offers heaps of info and support. It's via facebook, heres the link DDH FB page

Sorry I couldn't be of more help right now.