I had an e-mail from a grandmother asking about the diagnosis of congenital torticollis in her granddaughter. Torticollis means a twisting of the neck and can be seen following a traumatic birth. She said the child also had had a broken clavicle and that one side of her face was smaller than the other. The family had been told to stretch the baby's neck to the uninvolved side, but there was no improvement. She asked about the next step and what the long-term effects would be.

My suggestion to her was that a pediatric surgeon should be consulted, as soon as possible. If the muscle that is pulling the neck to one side is not released, the baby could have her head pulled to one side permanently with a marked difference in the two sides of her face. With a release of this muscle, the sterno-cleido-mastoid, the two sides of the child's face should gradually become the same size.

One of the other things that parents can do initially, in addition to stretching, is to put colorful objects, such as a cradle gym, to the side where the baby does not want to turn, so attempts will be made to look at the objects.