Can little people have children?

Hi guys! It’s October 15, 2015 and its Dwarfism Awareness Month. Topic I am going to talk about today is children. Many people wonder if little people can have children, or even how little people come to be. Well first of all, as I said in my earlier posts, dwarfism is a rare genetic condition. All types of dwarfs are made from different genetic influences during pregnancy. For example, my particular dwarfism comes from a mutation of the COL2A1 gene which purpose is to provide cartilage for in between our joints. Mutations in the COL2A1 gene interfere with the assembly of type II collagen molecules, which prevents bones and other connective tissues from developing properly. So overall, among the common difficulties little people face, my particular dwarfism SEDc has many joint problems that cause pain because of the lack of cartilage in my body. This is only ONE example, all types of dwarfism are different.

So when we think about whether little people can have children, the answer is … YES! However some little people women might be too small to actually carry their baby to full term. Sometimes people choose to have a surrogate mother or adopt but mostly we can carry our own children. Now comes the tricky part…. If two little people try to have a baby, sometimes things can get complicated because our genetic makeup combined can be fatal for a child. For example, two people with Achondroplasia (the most common form) that want to have a child will be faced with 25% chance of average height child, 50% chance of child born with Achondroplasia, and 25% chance of homozygous Achondroplasia (double dominant) and is not compatible with life.

Although there are many risks, there are still many people who try to make a family of their own and are very successful!! One day I hope to have a family of my own!

Below you can find some general statistics:

Two Average Height Parents (no history of dwarfism)