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Topics: Health, World News, Parenting
Britt Jones
After a baby girl ‘grew a micropenis’, experts issued a stark warning to every parent.
A little girl grew an additional member after cuddling with her dad as a newborn, leading to a bizarre revelation.
The odd case occurred in Sweden, where half a dozen similar cases have happened.
As per Professor Jovanna Dahlgren, a paediatric endocrinology expert who works at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, she's seen parents become 'completely desperate' when they've realized what has actually happened.
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Now, she’s urging all parents who are using one thing to be cautious when exposing their children to the ‘potent’ substance.
The baby girl, who had laid on her father’s bare chest numerous times so that she could bond via skin-to-skin contact with her dad, began showing signs of genital changes shortly afterwards.
By ten months old, she had a fully formed ‘micropenis’, with her clitoris having grown longer to resemble a penis and her labia fusing together to become a scrotum.
However, the little girl's father had been using a testosterone gel product, which provides him with the male hormone via an artificial form.
It’s something that is usually prescribed to those who do not make enough testosterone or have low energy and low sex drive.
As per the Mayo Clinic, after applying the gel, men should 'allow the skin to air-dry, then cover with clothing to prevent others from coming in contact with the medication on your skin'.
According to the Mayo Clinic, testosterone in women can help to boost energy, sex drive and more, but it is unsure of the long-term effects and risks of being exposed to additional testosterone than women already produce.
But the father unknowingly laid his baby on his bare chest without realizing that he was actually exposing her to the hormone.
Thus, she grew something similar to a ‘micropenis’. However, Swedish medics have stated that this term is incorrect, as a micropenis is something that describes male genitalia, not female genitalia that has been exposed to testosterone.
Professor Dahlgren has now warned parents to be extra cautious when using 'potent' hormone treatments around children because of the risk it poses to their hormone levels and physical changes.
After noticing the changes, the parents took her in to see health professionals when she was 10 months old, and they quickly solved the reason for her genitalia issues.
Blood tests revealed that the baby had dangerously high levels of testosterone in her system.
But thankfully, once she was no longer exposed to the hormone, her genitalia began to shrink back to normal proportions and her issue with her ‘micropenis’ looking genitals and dangerous levels of testosterone disappeared.
Professor Dahlgren explained that the ordeal happened eight years ago but warned she has seen similar cases happen since then.
Because of this, she urges parents to be cautious of exposing their kids to hormones.
"I don't think people always understand how potent these treatments are," she told Swedish newspaper Göteborgs-Posten.
"The parents become completely desperate when they understand what has happened."