Torticollis :: Our Experience and Resolution
My daughter was born premature at 33 weeks 4 days, and during my pregnancy, she was breached the entire time except for one visit she had flipped and we could see her in the right position. But then on the following visit, she was breached again. At the time, my team of doctors didn’t foresee any problems as we had a scheduled c-section set for 36 weeks due to my prior myomectomy that I had 4 years earlier.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, Torticollis, also known as wryneck or twisted neck, is a common condition in babies where the head tilts to one side, with the chin pointing to one shoulder and the head tilting toward the other. It’s caused by a shortened neck muscle, which can be tight or scarred. Torticollis can be congenital, meaning the baby is born with it, or acquired, meaning it develops later in infancy or childhood.
The most common type is congenital muscular torticollis. Although children have this when they are born, parents may not notice it until children are several weeks old as they start to gain more control of their head movement. Congenital muscular torticollis responds very well to physical therapy, especially when it’s started early. Sometimes it is associated with plagiocephaly, a common and treatable condition in which there is asymmetry in the shape of the head and face.
I was a first time mother at the beautiful age of 49, and I was a very much hands on, and for the of lack of a better word, a “worry wart.” I Googled and researched everything I could because I wanted to get a handle on any and everything if the case presented itself. However, there was nothing wrong with my sweet girl. She was born early, tiny, and she spent 2 weeks 2 days in the NICU.
Yet, no one picked up on anything other than her beautiful, thick, plentiful black hair.
I am forever taking photos of my miracle from day one. Being that I am from Texas and my husband is from Mexico, I have utilized Facebook to share our princess with our family and friends. I had a family member cautiously mention to me when my daughter was 8 weeks old that she noticed in every photo my daughter seem to be looking to the left. From what Google said, that could be a sign of autism. Of course, this absolutely rattled me. I didn’t dwell on what she had said. I took action and made an appointment right away with the pediatrician. Then, we were referred to a specialist and that’s when we discovered that she had the condition of torticollis.
It was more than likely due to the fact she was breached the entire time.
We got physical therapy set up 3 times a week and began to work out that muscle and begin our road to recovery. Although it obviously upset me being told this by the family member at the time, I truly believe her heart was in the right place and that she didn’t mean to be vicious, only just concerned. I am truly grateful for her being brave enough to even say anything and giving me the opportunity to get my baby’s condition treated and resolved. Google can be our best friend at times and also our worst enemy. I am the type of mom that I will listen to what anyone has to say, yet I am always going to go with my inner mom instinct. I will also follow it up with a professional.
Now today my beautiful girl stands tall and straight. She carries her long, thick, beautiful, black hair along with all of her beautifulness thanks to the family member. Even though the Google diagnosis wasn’t spot on, it was very much appreciated that anything at all was said. We were able to resolve the issue with a lot of loving, kind therapy from the sweetest PT at Women’s and Children’s we could have ask for. Our little ladybug got healed.
