Sex change treatments for children & teens on the rise in US

A GROWING number of teens and even younger children who think they were born the wrong sex are getting support from parents and from doctors who give them sex-changing treatments.

It’s an issue that raises ethical questions, and some experts urge caution in treating children with puberty-blocking drugs and hormones.

An eight-year-old in Los Angeles is a typical patient. Born a girl, the child announced at 18 months, “I a boy” and has stuck with that belief. The family was shocked but now refers to the child as a boy and is watching for the first signs of puberty to begin treatment, his mother told The Associated Press.

Pediatricians need to know these kids exist and deserve treatment, said Dr Norman Spack, author of one of three reports published this week and director of one of the US’s first gender identity medical clinics, at Children’s Hospital Boston.

“If you open the doors, these are the kids who come. They’re out there. They’re in your practices,” Dr Spack said.

Read more at News.com HERE.