A mother is considering freezing her young daughter’s eggs after the child began puberty at just 10 months old. Sophie Dumas, 41, from London, only learned something was unusual when a health visitor noticed that baby Sienna’s breast tissue appeared enlarged.
After a GP referral and tests with paediatric endocrinologists, Sienna was diagnosed with central precocious puberty (CPP) – a condition where the brain starts sending signals that trigger puberty early. She was 10 months old at the time.
Diagnosis and testing ordeal
Sophie said she had not noticed anything wrong. “Sienna was a happy and healthy baby,” she said. “The breast buds weren't something I'd noticed before, and as babies are usually the sort of chubby that makes them that little bit more adorable, and also that she was breastfed, I didn't think anything of her appearance as being out of the ordinary.”
The diagnostic process was distressing. “The tests she underwent were horrible for all of us. She had what was referred to as Stim tests, which was a term I went on to dread, which involved blood tests to take a baseline to measure the LH level, the hormone that regulates puberty, then injecting her with a synthetic hormone to see how her blood hormones react over a period of different timeframes,” Sophie explained.
“This meant a whole day in hospital. Sienna became so stressed that she sweated the cannulas out, and one of her veins collapsed. They then had to draw her blood via another method from her heels with a pin-prick. It was incredibly distressing. They had to carry out X-rays to determine Sienna’s bone age, which was awful as they needed her to keep her hand flat and still whilst the X-rays were taken. That’s not easy for a 10-month-old to do. The only way I could soothe Sienna through procedures and tests was to breastfeed her in all sorts of strange positions and with one of those heavy blankets over me.”
Treatment and emotional impact
Weeks later, tests confirmed precocious puberty. Sophie, who had never heard of the condition, found the lack of information isolating. “I found that the lack of knowledge about it very hard, and 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.”
Doctors said Sienna needed regular injections of a GnRH analogue hormone blocker to suppress puberty hormones. An MRI was also performed to check for brain abnormalities, a possibility Sophie called “terrifying”. The MRI was clear, and Sienna was diagnosed with CPP of unknown cause, which is more common in girls.
Without treatment, Sienna, now five, would have gone through puberty years early. While not life-threatening, early puberty can reduce final adult height because growth plates mature sooner. Sophie said: “The emotional impact this may have on Sienna could be devastating. Having any sorts of differences today can lead to all sorts of bullying, isolation and mental health issues. We all want our children to remain children for as long as we can, to maintain those magical dreams and nurture vivid imaginations with fairies and princesses, so Sienna’s body trying to rob her of her youth felt unfair.”
“CPP is certainly not life-threatening, but it is somewhat life-changing. We are incredibly lucky to have a healthy, happy daughter, so we can’t complain. However, when it’s your daughter who you have to hold down so the doctors can take bloods or give her injections, and she’s crying, ‘Mummy, please help me, please don’t let them hurt me’, it is heartbreaking. I also can’t tell her that she needs to have these injections to stop her getting sick, as this is untrue.”
Looking ahead to fertility and childhood
Sienna now receives an injection every four weeks. “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 said.
The family has been told Sienna will likely remain on hormone-blocking treatment until around age 11 or 12, depending on her bone age and development. Sophie is now considering egg freezing in case the condition affects fertility later. “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.”
Sienna is already experiencing hormonal spots, leading to teasing at school. “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. It’s difficult explaining it to her. There’s been some teasing from her school friends who have said they think she has chickenpox. 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 is determined to let Sienna enjoy childhood, planning a Disneyland trip next year. She advises other parents: “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.”
