Having a child is possibly the most exciting and rewarding milestone in a person’s life. When a child is born with a limb deficiency, parents may find themselves feeling sad or depressed initially. Those initial feelings of anger, grief, fear, and guilt soon subside, though, as parents see that their baby is happy, healthy, and hitting developmental benchmarks at an expected rate. It is important for parents to remember that they did not cause this to happen, and there was nothing they could do to prevent it. Often, it is not known why a congenital loss of a hand or arm occurs, but we, at MPPO, do know that children who are born with congenital limb differences go on to live very normal, and even exceptional lives.

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Limited communication skills, combined with rapid rates of physical growth, mean that infants and children require more frequent office visits and more careful observation of their progress from month to month. Ideally, the evaluation process for a child born with a congenital limb deficiency should begin within three months after birth. The fitting process, however, does not begin until the child and family are ready for the prosthesis.

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Children with limb differences are unaware of their difference as infants, so there is no need to offer special treatment or fret over their future. Children adapt to their world with the gifts they are given at birth. The best things that parents can do for their limb deficient child is love, appreciate, and care for him/her, like they would any child. Parents quickly realise that limb deficient children are capable of doing anything they put their minds too, like playing sports, musical instruments, and finding their path in life through experimentation and practice.

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Parents should prepare themselves for a number of challenges however. A plan of attack will ensure a positive outcome for the parents, the peers, and most importantly, the child. People are naturally curious about differences they see in others. Do not be offended when strangers “stare,” but rather, use it as an opportunity to teach others about differences. For example, a parent might say to a stranger, “I noticed you were looking at my son’s arm. This is a myoelectric prosthesis that was made especially for him because he was born without his arm. Look what it can do! Isn’t this amazing?” This way, a child grows up feeling proud of his/her difference and will initiate those conversations on his/her own in the future. A child entering school for the first time will be “armed” with self-confidence and be able to teach his/her peers about his/her difference and help to minimise those feelings of anxiety when encountering new situations and new people. There will always be challenges with peer groups, but a child who is taught from the beginning that he/she is special, unique and valued, will carry those positive feelings into their lives and have a greater ability to handle challenges as they arise.

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Adapting to a limb loss device (prosthesis) can be difficult, but encourage your child to wear the prosthesis without negative pressure. Developing a routine is very useful. The child will grow to expect that the prosthesis is put on consistently. It is important that they like the prosthesis and want to wear it, not because mom and dad make them wear it.