At what age is it appropriate to take a child for pubertal development analysis?

  Adolescence is the period of transition from childhood development to adulthood and is a great concern for every parent. The height, weight, secondary sexual characteristics, menstrual problems, and breast development of children often bother many mothers. Because puberty is the second peak of human growth and development, huge physiological changes occur, height and weight grow rapidly, organs such as heart, lungs and liver become increasingly mature, and various indicators reach or approach adult standards.  The development of secondary sexual characteristics (breast, pubic hair, axillary hair, etc.) and sexual organs has an obvious time sequence, if there is a temporal violation, such as breast development before the age of 8, or menstruation before the age of 10, it is considered precocious; girls still have no sexual development at the age of 13 or no menarche at the age of 16 should be considered delayed puberty development; after the age of 18 is still childish as before, it may be sexual development insufficiency. Therefore, 7-9 years old and 13-16 years old become a special period for female body development and sexual development, parents should take their children to a specialized hospital for developmental analysis during this period. At the same time, 9-13 years old is the best time to receive various vaccines for reproductive health, such as the rubella vaccine and the anti-cervical cancer vaccine (the anti-HPV vaccine is already available in Hong Kong and will soon be available in China). In addition, adolescent women are also prone to irregular periods, secondary amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), abnormal leucorrhea, etc. If your child has any of these conditions, please visit our Women’s Health Department – Adolescent Women’s Disease Clinic for a developmental analysis, and a specialist will be available to provide you with treatment and guidance.