AS ALL mums do, Claire Myers thought her newborn baby, Derryn, was perfect.

There had been complications in Miss Myer’s pregnancy – Derryn was born three weeks early and she said doctors told her he had stopped growing at 26 weeks, meaning he weighed just 3lb 15oz when he was delivered by emergency Caesarian section on May 8.

Miss Myers was understandably delighted when she finally got to take Derryn home, but when she did friends and family all began to notice that his head seemed deformed.

Miss Myers, 32, from Duffryn, Newport, said: “Like all mums you can’t see anything wrong with your baby, you just think they’re perfect, but people kept saying I should get his head looked at because they were worried. I asked my GP and nurses and they all said it was nothing to worry about and he would grow out of it.”

On October 16 Miss Myers was told Derryn was in fact suffering from a condition called brachycephaly, also known as flat head syndrome.

The condition isn’t treated on the NHS, but can be addressed by the child wearing a special helmet which, over time, corrects the shape of the growing skull.

These bespoke helmets are very expensive, though, costing anywhere between £1,700 and £2,500.

Miss Myers, a cleaner at Lloyds bank in Newport, said she obviously couldn’t afford that but has begun fundraising to try to raise the money needed.

Family and friends have begun collecting, raising more than £200 in a week.

Miss Myers said: “The doctors describe it as a cosmetic procedure but I just want him to have the best start in life, I’d be worried about him being bullied. The damage of being bullied would be a lot more than cosmetic, I think.”