Find out the cause of delayed puberty in girls

Late puberty in girls is a condition in which the baby's body begins to show signs of sexual changes much later than normal development. This can cause anxiety and confusion for children and families.

Puberty is an important stage, marking the child's sexual maturity. What causes delayed puberty in girls and how can it be treated? Let's find out with aFamilyToday Health through the following article!

Identifying signs of delayed puberty in girls

Girls' puberty begins when the pituitary gland produces two hormones, luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). This hormone causes the ovaries to develop and begin producing estrogen. The growth spurt in girls begins as soon as the breasts develop and the first menstrual cycle appears about 2-3 years later. A 13 year old girl whose breasts have not yet developed is considered delayed puberty.

The cause of delayed puberty in girls

1. The ovaries have problems

One of the causes of delayed puberty in girls is premature ovarian failure. The main cause of this condition is radiation - often used to treat leukemia and some other types of cancer. In addition, Turner syndrome - a disease caused by the loss of part or all of the X chromosome in women, is also one of the causes of ovarian failure. Most girls with Turner syndrome have symptoms such as: short, excess neck skin, palate arch, arms facing out, and concave chest bones.

Sometimes a damaged ovary leads to delayed puberty due to a lack of pituitary hormones (LH and FSH), also known as gonadotropin. It also occurs when the body does not produce growth hormones.

2. Physical

Some girls with late puberty simply will mature later than their peers. When puberty begins, everything will be normal. This is called delayed physical puberty, and is more common in boys than girls.

3. Due to genetics

Puberty is also sometimes an inherited part of parents. If a baby develops late puberty, the mother or father is likely to be late puberty.

4. The amount of body fat is reduced

Decreased body fat is the main cause of delayed puberty in girls. Late puberty often occurs in active girls, especially gymnastics, ballet dancers, swimming players. This can also happen in babies suffering from anorexia because they are afraid they will get fat despite the fact that their bodies are thinner than usual. Late puberty has also been detected in patients with chronic illnesses - those whose fat content is frequently reduced relative to body fat mass.

How is delayed puberty in girls diagnosed?

The internal medicine doctor will order blood tests and other tests to measure levels of the hormones LH, FSH, and estradiol. If the test results show that the hormones LH and FSH are high, this means the ovaries are not working properly. In this case, the pituitary gland must be stimulated to produce hormones to stimulate the ovaries to work harder. If the cause of early ovarian failure is not clear, your baby will be tested for karyotype (chromosomal set-up) to see how many cells are missing X chromosome.

If the levels of the hormones LH, FSH and estradiol are low, then the cause of delayed puberty may be due to reduced body fat or a lack of hormones LH, FSH permanently. Other tests will be done if the doctor suspects that the child's body is lacking in pituitary hormones, such as brain imaging. In addition, your doctor may also order a hand X-ray to measure bone age.

How to overcome late puberty in girls?

For girls who are physically late to puberty, their breasts will develop as they enter puberty. Alternatively, you can give your baby an estrogen supplement for 4–6 months to promote early puberty. For girls with late puberty and reduced body fat, it is best to feed your baby more because weight gain will help the puberty stage run normally.

For girls with early ovarian failure or a lack of gonadotropin hormone deficiency, you can give your child estrogen in the form of estradiol pills or skin patches twice a week. Doctors will prescribe from a low dose and every 6 months to increase the dose. After 12–18 months, your doctor will continue to take the progestin hormone supplement (such as Provera) and after a few months stop progestin for 1–2 days. Note that you should talk with your internal medicine doctor about your child's fertility.

Late puberty due to many different reasons, parents should pay attention to their children and their well-being so that there are ways to handle them to help their children develop normally.

Hopefully, with the above information, this article has provided useful knowledge about the issue of delayed puberty in girls. If you have any questions, you should consult your doctor or health professional for the best answer.