Short stature

Children are seen when they are not growing as much as we expect, based on their family’s height, their own growth over time and other concerns. Short stature can happen because of many reasons, including:

• Coming from a shorter family
• Delay in growth and development
• Early puberty
• Poor weight gain
• Endocrine disorders, such as thyroid disease or growth hormone deficiency
• Chromosome differences, such as Turner syndrome (see our specialty program)
• Skeletal dysplasia, where body parts develop differently 

More information

• Short stature
• Constitutional delay (late bloomer)

Short stature evaluation and management at Children's Wisconsin

• At your visit, our team gathers a medical history, performs a physical exam and tracks your child's growth over time.
• Your child may also need blood tests, an X-ray of their hand or other tests. These tests can help the team find out the cause of their growth differences.
• Once the team knows the reason for the growth difference, they may prescribe medicine to help your child grow.
• If the reason for their growth differences is not hormone-related, your child may need to see other specialists.