God made girls to become women! Puberty is the period during which adolescents reach sexual maturity and become capable of reproduction. The normal onset of puberty occurs between 10 and 16.5 years of age, with girls usually starting to go through puberty at 8 – 13 years old. One to four years before puberty is when a girl’s body begins to change in preparation for menarche (the onset of mensuration). It is important to be aware of signs of puberty for girls so we can prepare our daughters for their first period. 

Early puberty, also called precocious puberty, is when a girl starts showing the first signs of puberty before she is 8 years old. This might be normal but might require a visit to a hormone doctor (pediatric endocrinologist) to find out for sure. Let’s see what we can learn about the kinds of puberty, the causes, and the signs of early puberty. 

Adrenal Puberty Signs

Adrenal puberty is when the adrenal glands make hormones that cause the first signs of puberty including adult body odor, pubic and underarm hair growth, and acne.

Gonadal Puberty Signs

Gonadal puberty takes place when the pituitary gland, a small gland in the brain that tells the other glands in the body what to do, makes hormones to tell the ovaries (gonads) to make estrogen and progesterone hormones. These hormones are responsible for breast and uterine development and cause a girl to have a growth spurt, develop breasts, and start their menstrual periods. 

Causes of Early of Puberty in Girls

Sometimes, early adrenal puberty is normal and at other times, a problem with the adrenal glands can cause a young girl to have early adrenal puberty. Early gonadal puberty typically has two causes.  The first type is gonadotropin dependent puberty, which is caused by the pituitary glands making the hormones LH and FSH that then stimulate the ovaries to make estrogen. This type can be from radiation, tumors, or Central Nervous System trauma, or it can be idiopathic, meaning there is no known cause for the early gonadal puberty. The rare second type can be from Gonadotropin independent puberty, which is caused by exposure to products with hormones or medications in them or the ovaries working on their own. (This is a rare genetic condition that usually affects boys ages 1 to 4 to make testosterone too early.)

Reduce the Risk

There are some things that can reduce the risks for precocious puberty.

1. Encourage children to stay at a healthy weight. A girl who is overweight might benefit from losing weight to slow down puberty because carrying extra weight can increase the risk of precocious puberty. 
2. Keep anything that contains testosterone or estrogen away from children. 

Action Step

I recommend having your daughter see a doctor if you suspect she has early puberty. 

May God bless you on your wellness journey!

Joni

P.S. Do you know anyone who has deal with early puberty in their children?