When bouncing baby Harris Ogg was born a year ago he appeared to be the picture of perfection. His parents Jacqueline and Mark couldn’t have wanted for a more beautiful child, just like his big brother Lewis, aged five.

But their pride turned to fear when they discovered that his ear was deformed and his head severely mis-shapen.

Says mum Jacqueline: “He was born with lots of hair, but when it started to fall out as it does with most babies, my mum noticed that he had a lump at the side of his head. We had already noticed the ear and that can be corrected when he’s older, but the lumps to the right hand side of his head were really very worrying. I was convinced that it was far more serious than it was.”

The little boy was suffering from plagiocephaly – also known as flat head syndrome – which can occur when the soft skull is pushed out of shape because of the way a baby lies in or out of the womb.

A consultant told Jacqui that Harris had been resting on her pelvic bone because her womb was too small to accommodate him.

Disillusioned by the attitude of her GP who thought Harris would grow out of the condition, Jacqui started to surf the net to look for ways to help her baby.

She eventually came across information about STARband™, a treatment which uses a specially fitted band or helmet to enable the baby’s head to be gradually re-shaped as it grows. The technology has enabled over 1,000 babies to achieve normal, rounded heads after just a few months of use.

After an initial consultation at the Technology in Motion centre in Leeds, the couple, from Leven in Fife, were convinced of the benefits and paid the £1,850 for treatment.

Says Jacqui: “Harris’s first week with the helmet was unsettled, then he took to it really well. He started wearing it at five months and within 14 weeks there was a dramatic improvement.”

The mis-alignment of Harris’ head measured 21mm, but by the end of the 14 weeks it had been reduced to just 5mm. Even staff at the clinic were amazed at his progress. They had anticipated an improvement to12mm but the results spoke for themselves.

Says Jacqui: “We were stunned at how effective the helmet had been in such a short time. Harris looks amazing now. I would have paid £4,000 for the treatment because it was so brilliant. The whole family is delighted with the success.

“I would love to see this treatment available on the NHS. I found it by typing the word plagiocephaly into the internet search engine. It needs to be more accessible to all.”