What causes missing fingers at birth?
Matthew Wilson
Updated on January 13, 2026
In babies with symbrachydactyly , the fingers (and sometimes the hand and arm) don't fully form during this time. This may happen because the area doesn't get enough blood flow or because of some other problem with the tissue. It's not caused by anything the mother did or did not do while she was pregnant.
symbrachydactyly
Symbrachydactyly is a congenital abnormality, characterized by limb anomalies consisting of brachydactyly, cutaneous syndactyly and global hypoplasia of the hand or foot. In many cases, bones will be missing from the fingers and some fingers or toes may be missing altogether.
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