Precocious puberty
This article does not have any sources. (June 2023) |
Precocious puberty is a medical condition that causes children to develop puberty at a very young age. This usually happens before age 9 and the cause is mostly unknown. It is a rare condition.
Going through puberty too early creates medical and psychological problems. The person might not grow as tall as they could. They might feel very different from their friends and other children in school. Girls who go through puberty early have a bigger chance of being sexually assaulted. They also have a bigger chance of becoming pregnant while still a young teenager. There is a bigger chance that later in life they might get a cancer such as breast cancer, because there is a higher risk associated with the number of years the woman had between puberty (usually defined as menarche for studies) and the first time she has a baby.
Drugs called puberty blockers can slow down or temporarily stop the process of puberty.
