Prader-Willi Syndrome or PWS is a genetic disorder. This disease is usually marked by hyperphagia: a condition that forces an individual to always experience excessive hunger, which would soon be inevitably followed by excessive intake of solid food causing obesity and other medical conditions associated with overeating. The individual is also very much preoccupied with food, and may undergo learning difficulties all throughout his or her life (particularly in the areas of speech and movements of the body.) An individual with PWS is also particularly short in stature. Although still considered as a rare form of disease, the incidence of PWS is 1 in every 15,000 live births and the numbers are rising.

Currently, PWS can be diagnosed with genetic testing, as opposed to the earlier years when diagnosis was only done by clinical presentation. Genetic testing has many benefits for individuals with PWS, particularly for the fetuses that are still in the uterus and the newborns. Aside from genetic testing, medical practitioners also watch out for physical signs of PWS in pregnancies through ultrasound testing. Unborn children with PWS usually exhibit reduced fetal movement or frequently pose in unnatural fetal positions.

For newborns, there are many other indications of PWS, particularly: breech or caesarian births, difficulties in respiration or breathing, feeding difficulties due to poor muscle tone which affects the sucking reflex, hypotonia (abnormally low muscle tone,) and lethargy. Early detection allows for early intervention: usually by prescribing human growth hormone treatments.

Human growth hormones have offered many benefits for individuals with PWS. Daily recombinant growth hormone injections are usually indicated for mothers bearing unborn children with PWS. Apparently, this helps the fetus develop faster, reaching its potential birth weight goal at the estimated time; whereas untreated fetuses end up with lower birth weights. Additionally, the hormones help the fetus develop skeletal and muscle mass, considerably lessening the occurrences of unnatural fetal positions.

For newborns, the daily human growth hormone injections help develop muscles, particularly those for respiration and feeding. Usually, newborns with PWS have difficulties in breathing and sucking in milk or liquefied nutrients. The hormones help the babies develop the necessary muscles faster. Furthermore, newborns with PWS seem to lack the energy to do much, and spend most of their time sleeping. Yes, it's true that most babies spend almost 13 to 14 hours a day sleeping; but children with PWS are almost always awake for only 5 hours a day. Human growth hormones help them gain energy for more activity, giving them the strength to stay awake for longer hours.

For children with PWS, the injections help support linear growth, making the child's stunted growth pattern develop in an accelerated rate. Untreated cases of PWS are often visible in the short stature of the individual. Human growth hormone treatments help increase muscle mass and helps lessen the person's food preoccupation - which in the long run may solve the problems regarding overeating and obesity.