... girls not living with fathers at higher risk
- A study showed that girls who did not live with their biological fathers were at higher risk of reaching early puberty.
MBABANE
This was reported in an article by the New York Times. It also reported that girls, whose mothers had a history of mood disorders also seem more likely to reach puberty early. “Lifestyle factors like a lack of physical activity have also been linked to changes in pubertal timing”, the report stated.
Further, the reported stated that during the COVID-19 pandemic, pediatric endocrinologists from across the world noticed that referrals were increasing for earlier puberty in girls. Also, it was reported that a study published in Italy in February showed that 328 girls were referred to five clinics across the country during a seven-month period in 2020, compared with 140 during the same period in 2019. No difference was found in boys.
However, some experts argue that the age threshold for alarm should be lowered as they said, healthy children could be referred to specialists and undergo unnecessary medical procedures, which can be physically taxing and expensive.
Meanwhile, according to Khulisa Umntfwana, emaSwati had a way of controlling early puberty.
This was noted by the NGO’s representative Bheki Shabangu. Shabangu, who said traditionally, it was normal for girls aged six or even seven to development breasts. However, he said traditionalists had a way of ensuring that the puberty was stopped. “They used to push the breasts back,” he stated.
He stated expert traditionalists whom he referred to as ‘local scientists’ were able to perform actions on girls who reached puberty early, such that they were able to cause the breasts to be retreated. He said once the breasts were retreated, they would then grow back later when the girl reached puberty after the age of 13 or 14 years.
Shabangu said with this technique, girls were able to develop breasts that were firmer and without any complication.
Also, Shabangu said in the past emaSwati children were not allowed to eat certain foods. He gave an example that children were not allowed to eat eggs because diet played a very important role on someone. “Today, children can eat anything they want,” he stated.
Shabangu further noted that due to early puberty, young girls as young as 13 were able to enter a bar because it was assumed that they were already above the age of 18 years due to the size of their breast.