SHE was born a normal bouncing baby weighing 4kgs two years ago. However, the girl has developed mature body features that are not expected of a child her age. The enlarged breasts, growth of pubic hair and menstruation that she has started undergoing are bizarre developments at that age.
The biological changes have worried her parents; Hakim Kabugo and Halima Namatovu of Nakyesanja-Kawanda, Wakiso district.
How did it start
The girl’s mother (Namatovu) says her daughter started experiencing body changes at eight months. “Her body developed swellings that I thought were a result of an allergy. She later started menstruating,†she says.
Namatovu, 34, has two daughters and two sons. She had the daughters with Kabugo after having two sons with another man.
She says her daughter experiences normal monthly menstruation and gets cramps during the period like a woman.
She says her daughter now behaves like an adolescent, citing her discomfort when told to undress in public and disassociating herself from her sibling when it is time to bathe. “She also hides her knickers,†Namatovu adds.
Perturbed by her daughter’s condition, Namatovu decided to seek supernatural help. She has visited different traditional healers and witchdoctors who have given her varying versions in an attempt to explain the dilemma.
“Some told me my daughter is possessed with demons that I encountered during pregnancy while others say it is my co-wife who be-witched her,†she narrates.
Namatovu does not know whose advice is right or wrong. However, she has more cause for worry since her other daughter, an eight-month-old girl, has also started developing similar signs.
Dr. Amos Odiit, a consultant paediatrician at Mulago hospital, says the girl’s problem could be a result of a hormonal imbalance — where hormones that stimulate the growth of her body parts were produced prematurely.
“There could be an abnormality in her hormone producing glands. Her condition needs to be studied to find out which exact hormone is abnormal.â€
Odiit says there is hope for correcting the girl’s condition after an investigation is done.
However, he notes that the only bottleneck is that the expense required to carry out the medical investigations could be high. He advises the girl’s parents to take the child to medical personnel at Mulago hospital for medical examination.
Dr. Robert Busingye, a consultant gynaecologist at Mulago and Nakasero Hospitals, dismisses the traditional doctors’ claim that the girl’s problem is a result of demons.
He says she could be suffering from a condition called precocious puberty — where a child reaches the puberty stage before the right time.
Puberty is the transition from childhood to adolescence. Busingye, a specialist in reproductive endocrinology, says the normal puberty stage should be between 9-13 years.
He says when a normal girl- child reaches puberty, the brain produces the Gonadotrophin Releasing Hormone, which sends a message to the ovary to secrete oestrogen hormones that are responsible for body changes.
Causes
Busingye says this could be caused by a genetic error, an old infection like meningitis, brain tumour or a brain accident which are making the part responsible for sending a message to the ovary secrete puberty hormones.
“As the brain is healing, the scar it got during the infection could cause the activation of the hormones,†he explains.
Busingye adds that tumours or internal growths in other parts of the body like in the ovary or kidney, could also result into premature release of oestrogen hormones leading to precocious puberty.
He reveals that precocious puberty results into psychological problems in the family and makes a girl get reproductive at a tender age. “It also results into rapid growth, but in the end, the child will be too short because the bones will stop growing fast,†he adds.
Managing the problem
Busingye calls for psychological management and counselling of the victim’s parents and the community around them to fight stigma and trauma that the condition can cause.
He also calls for investigation of the actual cause of the problem through X-rays, CT-scans and magnetic resonance imaging of the brain first, then other body parts to establish the source of the disorder.
Busingye advises checking of the numerous hormones that are associated with body changes.
Treatment
Busingye says if the cause is found, it should be treated as soon as possible but if it is an operable tumour, it should be removed through surgery. “For no obvious treatable cause, especially when the problem is due to a genetic error, long-term medication to suppress very early puberty is the solution,†he observes.
Asked about how much is needed to rectify the girl’s problem, Busingye says it is not easy to tell how much is required at the moment since the exact cause has not yet been established.
“I know it is costly because you have to investigate the problem and then treat it. If it is an operable tumour, then operate it. Treatment will depend on what has been discovered and it is long-term.
The girl has to be medicated until she reaches normal puberty stage,†he says.
Although medics could not state exactly how much is required to solve the problem, The New Vision has learnt that investigations alone could cost not less than sh1m.
Prevalence
Busingye says although he has encountered such cases before, they are very rare.
Dr. Frank Kaharuza, another gynaecologist, says precocious puberty usually occurs among children between 6-7 years but not among two-year-olds.
He also says the problem could be as a result of a tumour or cancerous growth in the girl’s body and advises the parents to seek medical help immediately.
The medics say if the condition is treatable, the victim will live a normal life again.
Namatovu is now seeking help for her daughters given the fact that her husband is a taxi driver with a meagre income. She can be reached on her cell phone number: 0774192951.
