The innate incompatibility between the bones that make up the hip joint is called developmental "hip dysplasia". All problems, from a simple mismatch between the bones to the most advanced stage of hip dislocation, are within the scope of developmental hip dysplasia.
This condition, which was defined as congenital hip dislocation in previous years, was only a hip dislocation in children as a result of research conducted in the 80s. It was named "developmental hip dysplasia" (DDH), which is a broader definition, when it was determined that problems arising from the incompatibility of the hip joint were not observed in most cases.
Risk Factors
In the formation of developmental hip dysplasia. There are some risk factors. Situations such as breech presentation of the baby during normal birth, multiple pregnancies, problems with too little or too much amniotic fluid, first birth, and the position of the child in the mother's womb increase the risk. On the other hand, girls are also prone to developmental hip dysplasia because their ligaments are more flexible.
In addition to birth-related risks, there are also some wrong practices after birth. The most important of these is swaddling the baby using traditional methods. Studies have shown that swaddling significantly increases the risk of developmental hip dysplasia. In traditional swaddling, the baby's legs are wrapped straight together, without allowing it to move. However, it is necessary to leave the legs free to ensure the natural development of the hips. Nowadays, there are also carrying and wrapping methods that are not like traditional swaddling, wrapping the baby only around the body and leaving the legs free. These are different from traditional swaddling because they leave the legs free.
Diagnostic Stage
When the baby is born, the hips are also examined during the first examination performed by pediatricians. Meanwhile, if a dislocation is noticed, it is treated immediately. In addition, the height difference between the legs and the presence of asymmetry in the skin folds on the baby's thighs should raise suspicion of hip dislocation.
Apart from this, hip ultrasound, which is recommended to be performed between 4-6 weeks after birth, is extremely important in detecting a possible problem. Children who cannot undergo ultrasound in these weeks If babies are older than 6 months, they are scanned with x-ray instead of ultrasound. It should not be forgotten that the earlier the hip problem is diagnosed, the easier the treatment will be.
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