PSA for Parents of Babies with Ears that Didn't Develop as Expected

We welcomed our new baby into our lives about 3 weeks ago. They were born with an ear that sticks out significantly further from their head than the average ear. It's called a protruding ear. We didn't think much of it and didn't think there could be anything done about it, so we didn't bring it up in the hospital or during the first pediatrician appointment. We didn't see our regular doctor because of the holidays.

But during our 2 week check up, we mentioned it to our regular pediatrician. Turns out you can put the baby's ear in a mold to reshape it. The catch is that after the baby turns 3 weeks old, the treatment is only 50% affective vs if the baby is less than 2 weeks old, the treatment is 95% affective. This is a huge difference considering the treatment could prevent years is bullying and a potential painful corrective surgery down the road.

None of the doctors or nurses we saw since they were born mentioned their ear or that there are possible treatments for it that had to be done right away. If we had known, we would have gone to the doctor as soon as possible. Not only because the mold would have been more likely to succeed but because we had also already met our deductible.

So here is my PSA to new parents that notice that their new baby's ear didn't develop as expected, mention it to your pediatrician right away so you can move quickly if you think it is something you want to have treated. Thankfully our baby's ear doesn't affect their hearing and the treatment is cosmetic but I know other babies have more significant issues so I thought it was important to let other parents know.