A mother is considering whether her young daughter may need to freeze her eggs after beginning puberty at just 10 months old.
Sophie Dumas had not suspected anything was wrong with her daughter, Sienna, until a health visitor noticed that the baby’s breast tissue appeared unusually enlarged.
The 41-year-old took Sienna to her GP, who referred them to paediatric endocrinologists. Specialists began investigating whether the baby was experiencing precocious puberty.
After a series of tests Sophie described as “incredibly distressing”, doctors confirmed that Sienna had central precocious puberty (CPP). The condition occurs when the brain starts releasing the signals that trigger puberty far earlier than expected.
Doctors told Sophie that Sienna would need regular hormone-blocking injections to safely pause the early puberty. But alongside concerns about the treatment, Sophie fears the “emotional impact” the condition could have as her daughter grows up.
Sophie had never heard of central precocious puberty and was left searching for answers about what it could mean for Sienna, who is now five. She is also struggling with how she will eventually “explain this to” her daughter.
“Sienna was a happy and healthy baby,” said Sophie, from London. “The breast buds weren’t something I’d noticed before. Babies are usually quite chubby, which makes them even more adorable, and because she was breastfed, I didn’t think there was anything unusual about her appearance.”
Sienna then underwent a series of tests that Sophie described as “horrible”. She said the only way she could comfort her daughter during the procedures, known as stimulation tests, was by breastfeeding her “in all sorts of strange positions”.
Sophie Dumas had not noticed anything unusual about Sienna until a health visitor pointed out that the baby’s breast tissue appeared enlarged
Tests described as “incredibly distressing” confirmed that Sienna had developed central precocious puberty, in which the brain sends puberty-triggering signals much earlier than usual
“She had what was called stimulation tests, a term I came to dread,” Sophie said. “They began with blood tests to establish a baseline and measure her LH level, the hormone involved in regulating puberty. She was then given a synthetic hormone so doctors could observe how her blood hormone levels responded over different time periods.”
“It meant spending an entire day in hospital. Sienna became so distressed that she sweated the cannulas out, and one of her veins collapsed,” Sophie recalled.
“Doctors then had to collect blood another way, using a pinprick from her heels. It was incredibly distressing.”
“She also had X-rays to determine her bone age. That was awful because she had to keep her hand flat and completely still while the images were taken. That isn’t easy for a 10-month-old.”
“The only way I could soothe Sienna during the procedures and tests was to breastfeed her in all sorts of strange positions, with one of those heavy blankets over me.”
Several weeks later, the family learned that Sienna’s test results had confirmed precocious puberty.
Her treatment consists of an injection every four weeks containing a hormone blocker known as a GnRH analogue. The medication suppresses the hormones responsible for triggering puberty.
Without the injections, Sienna, now five, would have continued developing years ahead of most children her age.
Sienna receives regular hormone-blocking injections to pause her early puberty, while her mother Sophie worries about the condition’s possible emotional impact
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Cold Case Answers: Who killed Shannon Poteet, a young Native American mom, in 1986? – NewsFinale
The family has been told that Sienna will probably continue hormone-blocking treatment until she is about 11 or 12. However, the timing will depend on her bone age and how her physical development progresses.
Sienna also underwent an MRI to determine whether there was an underlying cause for her condition. In some cases, central precocious puberty can be linked to abnormalities in the brain.
While the possibility was ‘terrifying’, Sienna’s MRI was clear, and she was diagnosed with central precocious puberty, which has no known cause in many children and is more common in girls.
While the condition is not life-threatening, doctors explained that early puberty can affect final adult height because children initially grow rapidly but their growth plates can mature sooner.
Sophie admitted she worries having CCP will leave Sienna vulnerable to ‘bullying, isolation and mental health issues’ as she grows older.
‘Sienna’s getting to an age where some of the untreatable symptoms are causing her to deal with spots on her face in the areas that are linked to hormones.
‘There’s been some teasing from her school friends who have said they think she has chickenpox,’ she revealed. ‘It makes me really sad. No one wants to think of their child being upset, especially when it’s from what someone else has said to them.
‘Sienna was confused because she didn’t know how to explain to them that they’re different kinds of spots because she doesn’t even understand it.
‘I told the teacher, who said that she knew they were hormonal spots and that she would reassure Sienna and tell the other children that it’s not their job to play doctor.’
Sophie has also found the lack of information about Sienna’s condition ‘very hard’, noting ‘the only parents I could find to talk to were via Facebook groups for it, but even then, they were parents of seven- to eight-year-olds, so it was never relevant’.
‘It feels very isolating, and I still have so many questions about it, mostly about how I can explain this to Sienna,’ she continued.
‘I also can’t tell her that she needs to have these injections to stop her getting sick, as this is untrue,’ Sophie reflected. ‘Sometimes she’s absolutely fine about them, but there are still lots of occasions where she kicks, screams, hides and as her parent, it’s a labour of love, knowing it’s best for her, but it does kill you inside.’
Sophie is now looking ahead to her daughter’s future and is considering whether egg freezing could give Sienna more options when she is older.
She said: ‘I’m currently looking into that possibility in case her condition affects her fertility later down the line.
‘When she was diagnosed, I was worried that she may not be able to start a family of her own one day if she wanted to, that the choice may be taken away from her. Hopefully, the hormone blockers will prevent this from affecting her fertility.’
For now, Sophie says she is determined to let her daughter enjoy being a little girl and is planning to take her to Disneyland to ‘keep the magic of childhood alive for as long as possible’.
‘The only advice I would give to another parent who is concerned about anything, even if they think it makes them look or sound neurotic, is to seek that medical advice and even get second opinions.
‘Our health visitor didn’t even think it would get taken seriously and, without her noticing something I never did, Sienna would not have received treatment as early as she did.’