Couple With Dwarfism Build a Family of Five Despite Medical Risks and Public Criticism

The Genetic Testing Charli Underwent

When Charli became pregnant with their third child, she chose to speak openly about the medical process—describing not only the emotional stress, but also the physical procedures involved.

One of the most significant steps was Chorionic Villus Sampling (CVS), a test used to examine the baby’s genetic makeup early in pregnancy. Charli described it as comparable to amniocentesis and emphasized how intense it felt physically, noting it involved a needle through the abdomen to collect placental tissue and carried a miscarriage risk she described as 2%..

She also highlighted the timing: while many parents celebrate reaching 12 weeks as a milestone when they can happily share news, she was facing a high-stress medical appointment and waiting for results that could change everything..

A Difficult “What If” Scenario

Charli and Cullen’s two daughters, Tully and Tilba, both have dwarfism. When preparing for their third child, the couple wanted clarity about whether the baby would inherit dwarfism as well—and whether the pregnancy presented the most severe genetic outcome.

Charli stated that if the baby had inherited both parents’ forms of dwarfism, the pregnancy would not be viable in the way doctors described, and they would have faced the prospect of ending the pregnancy. She shared that period of uncertainty as an emotionally heavy moment—one where the future depended on test results rather than hope alone.