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Topics: Health, World News, Parenting
Britt Jones
After a baby girl grew a ‘micropenis’ because of repeated skin contact with her father, experts hit out at the use of the term.
A little girl grew what looked to be a penis after cuddling with her dad as a newborn, and ten months later, the cause was revealed.
The strange occurrence happened in Sweden, where half a dozen similar cases have also been noted.
Professor Jovanna Dahlgren, a paediatric endocrinology expert who works at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, warned parents about contact with their children when using a specific product, which can lead to baby girls growing what looks like a ‘micropenis’.
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The baby girl, who had laid on her father’s bare chest, unfortunately ended up with her clitoris elongating to look like a tiny penis and her labia fusing to become what appeared to be a scrotum.
But what was the cause?
As it turned out, the little girl's father had been using a testosterone gel product, which provides him with the male hormone in a tube.
It’s something that is typically prescribed to men who do not make enough testosterone themselves.
The gel is supposed to be dried and covered, with the Mayo Clinic stating that anyone who applies the gel should 'allow the skin to air-dry, then cover with clothing to prevent others from contacting the medication on your skin'.
But the father unknowingly laid his baby on his bare chest without realizing that she was coming into contact with the hormone.
When they brought her in to see a professional, it was determined that her blood contained dangerous levels of the hormone, leading her to have what looked like a micropenis.
But the fact that people are using ‘micropenis’ to describe what happened to the baby eight years ago is not going down well with experts.
This is because a micropenis is something that describes male genitalia, not female genitalia.
According to Stanford Medicine Children’s Health, a ‘micropenis is a penis that is smaller than normal’.
It states that: “The normal length of a newborn boy's penis is 1.1 to 1.6 inches.”
However, a penis that is less than 0.75 inches is considered a micropenis.
As per the institute, a micropenis can simply happen on its own, but it can also come alongside other disorders.
This could be a hormone disorder ‘that causes an abnormal level of the hormones that affect the growth of the sex organs’.
To treat it, it all depends on the symptoms, age, and health of the baby.
Also, it depends on how severe the micropenis is.
Stanford states: “Hormone therapy may be used for some children. These can help to cause penile growth. In some cases, your child may need surgery.”
In the case of the little girl, once she was no longer exposed to the hormone, her genitalia began to shrink back to normal proportions. But Professor Dahlgren explained that she has seen similar cases happen since then.
So, she urges parents to be cautious when it comes to exposing their kids to hormones.
When it comes to male babies, a micropenis may be something they live with for the rest of their lives.