Precocious puberty is when a child’s body beginschanging before 8 years in girls and 9 years in boys. It is commonly seen ingirls.
The reasons behind these early changes in girlstoday are not yet known but sometimes in rare cases, the basic causes areinfections, hormone disorders, tumors, brain abnormalities, or injuries.Another cause for the same can be a problem inthe ovaries or thyroid gland. This issue may also run as hereditary in mothersand sisters.
In some cases, girls also facepartial precocious puberty i.e. the growth of hair in the underarms or publicareas but no sexual changes as such. Another thing which is observed among thegirls of age groups between 6 months to 3 years is the development of breasts.
These changes affect thechildren in many ways. Firstly, after the finishingof puberty, the girl stops growing as the bones get mature and the growth stopsimmediately which can make the child not reach her ideal adult height.Secondly, Precocious puberty can also cause girls to face emotional and socialproblems which can eventually make them more self-conscious. They may also beembarrassed about having their menstrual cycle and breasts before than otherpeers. They become more irritable and moody. Besides that, there is a risk ofgirls going into depression. The hardest part to deal with is the teasing thatthese children face at times.
A recent example of acause of Precocious puberty is of an 11-year girlwho gave birth to a “healthy” baby in Britain making a new record of being theyoungest mother in the United Kingdom which was not applicable based on the UKlaws.The girl became pregnant at the age of 10 and wentthrough labor earlier in this month i.e. June. According to the sources, the most astonishingthing was that none of her family members knew that she was pregnant and nowthis issue is under investigation by the social services.It was reported by The Sunthat the lady is now being surrounded by expert help and the main thing is thatshe and the baby are okay!
Previously in 2006, TressaMiddleton was the youngest mum to be in the UK and was only 12-year-old but wascompelled to give up her child after knowing that the child’s father wasTressa’s brother, who had raped her.
The common age when Puberty starts in girls isnormally between the age of 8 and 13 but nowadays, girls are hitting pubertyearlier than before because of many biological and environmental situations,including the modern diet which causes changes in the daily life activitypatterns.
The treatment of early puberty is necessaryespecially when it is the guidance of the doctor to do so. Children with“partial” precocious puberty may need to be diagnosed. Doctors can help thechildren to achieve the full adult height and also stop the social as well asemotional problems that they might face.
At times, a Pediatric endocrinologist (a doctor who specializes in growth and hormonal disorders inchildren) can also help in overcoming the early puberty depending on therequirement of the child. It may be that the situation might require notreatment or medications to lower down the hormonal levels or to delay sexualgrowth.
Many more questions need to be answered related tothe 11-year-old “Britain's youngest ever mum” and also regarding the advent ofprecocious puberty among today’s generation especially girls.