Could My Baby Be a Dwarf?

Genetic changes happen randomly. There is nothing a parent could do before or during pregnancy to prevent this change from happening. A genetic counselor can help determine the chances of having a child with dwarfism. Depending on the type of dwarfism, two average-height parents can have a child with short stature.

Can you tell if a fetus has dwarfism?

Doctors are able to diagnose most cases of achondroplasia even before birth by doing an ultrasound in the later stages of pregnancy. The ultrasound can show if a baby's arms and legs are shorter than average and if the baby's head is larger.

At what age can dwarfism be detected?

Disproportionate dwarfism is usually apparent at birth or early in infancy. Proportionate dwarfism may not be diagnosed until later in childhood or the teenage years if your child isn't growing at an expected rate.