s/o Late puberty for dd12 -- experiences

[Mandamom]

My dd12 (13 in August) is showing very few signs of puberty. There are no breast changes or hair development. She is a competitive gymnast so she's in the gym a lot and she is mostly muscle. She is 4'11" at 97 pounds -- the only thing that's changed in months is a 9 pound weight gain (muscle) so I'm thinking that maybe a sign of things to come.

 

My dd10 (11 in May) is showing breast development and is within an inch in height of her older sister. So, she has definitely started puberty.

 

I am about 5'8" with tall relatives and dh is 5'10 with a couple tall relatives but mostly his height or shorter.

 

My eldest dss20 is about 6'1", the younger dss16 is 5'10" like their dad.

 

I'm less worried about dd12's height/weight and but I'm waiting for signs of physical changes and they don't seem to be happening. The information I'm reading says that girls generally show some signs by 13 and she's pretty close.

 

I was just looking for some experiences of later girls puberty.

 

Thanks,

[Laura Corin]

I didn't get my period until I was sixteen. I've no idea when other changes started.

 

ETA: I wasn't an athlete, just late.

 

Laura

[CatholicMom]

I don't know how a lot of physical activity and percent of body fat might affect the actual onset of puberty, but I would look into it if you're concerned. I say this because it's well-known that girls who are very physically active and/or have very little body fat will ovulate less, or stop ovulating altogether. And they don't have to be in olympic training whatsoever for this to happen. It's very common for high school girls who are athletes. - Not that I think it's OK... I think it means they need to cut back activity and/or increase their calorie intake for their bodies to function properly. *More* physical activity isn't always better than sufficient physical activity, YKWIM? When I was in high school and knew less about this stuff, I went 6 months with no period and besides that I commonly had a period about every other month for years at a time. I was in cheerleading and ran track & field, was 5'4" and weighed about 105. I remember my doctor asking about my periods during a routine physical and I said I got it every couple of months or whatever and he immediately asked if I was involved in sports and said that was probably why. Sure enough, when I went to college, my periods were regular.

 

(Note: It IS common of course for girls who have just started their periods to have irregular cycles until ovulation becomes established, but too much physical activity can definitely hinder ovulation/periods occurring for longer than it should, or perpetually, if the physical activity remains at that level.)

 

I say all this because it seems to make sense that if young girls stop ovulating (i.e. their bodies decide to NOT produce the hormones to make ovulation happen, therefore no period occurs) because of too little body fat and too much physical activity to support a healthy pregnancy, then the body might also postpone the onset of puberty for the same reasons. I'm not sure if that actually happens, but it doesn't seem to be a huge logical leap. You could look into it. Either way, I would probably try to cut back on her physical activity a bit if it's not necessary and see if she will eat more (not junk food, of course, but good food that will increase her body fat to a healthy percentage of her total body weight).

 

That said, I don't think almost-13 is a time to worry yet. But just things to keep in mind to make sure she is healthy when her body decides to start the hard work of becoming a mature adult. I had a friend in high school who was 16 or close to it when she finally got her period. But I think other changes had already taken place. I think average onset is 11 or 12, but that's just an average.

 

You could also look up stages of puberty. You can see a list of how it normally progresses... I think it might usually be budding breasts first (hard nodules under the nipples), period second, and hair is last. But don't quote me on it.

[Miss Mousie]

I didn't get my period until I was sixteen. I've no idea when other changes started.

 

Laura

 

 

I was 14 when my period started. I'm still waiting on the breast development part. :p

[bluemongoose]

I was 15 when I started my period. I had the other development stuff start at late 13, almost 14.

 

ETA: I was not athletic at all. I was just from a late blooming family.

[DianeW88]

It's her gymnastics. My ballet dd didn't start her period until she was 15...for the same reasons. Lots of physical activity and low percentage of body fat. It's fine and perfectly normal. I wouldn't worry about it at age 12.

[dbmamaz]

my daughter was in high school .. . i think late 9th grade . . before she got her period. She complained bitterly for years lol! she was not athletic, but very thin (5'6, only hit 100 lb after getting her period) - she ate well, she just has her father's body type. her father also hit puberty very late.

[Mom-ninja.]

So if a girl is not ovulating due to lots of physical activity why is that considered bad?

 

We know that more cycles over the life of a woman in general increases her risk of certain cancers. The estrogen is the main culprit. The less estrogen over the years the better for decreasing risk. This is why women who don't have breaks from menstrual cycles from pregnancy/breastfeeding are at higher risk of certain cancers. The earlier a girl starts her periods the higher the risk of these cancers because that is that much more estrogen during her life.

 

My friend's dd was 14 when she started her period (she was not physically active) and the doctor was thrilled. The doctor told my friend that the later a girl starts the better for her overall health life long.

 

Women who don't have pregnancies are often advised to take BC to take a break from the never ending estrogen surges every month.

 

So I'm confused as to why suppressed ovulation due to physical activity would be unhealthy. I'm not being snarky. I just don't consider it unhealthy.

 

Low body fat does not necessarily suppress ovulation. When I conceived all my babies I weighed between 94-96 lbs.

[Momof3littles]

There can be interplay between low estrogen and bone loss/osteopenia in young athletes. I'm not saying that does or doesn't apply to the OP's daughter, but it is one of the concerns in young, competitive athletes.

 

http://www.webmd.com...nd-osteoporosis

 

I don't know how a delay in the onset of a period works as compared to a period that has started but is irregular due to sports, but yes, sports induced amenorrhea can be a concern for female athletes.

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/17572167

http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/21688870

[Momof3littles]

So if a girl is not ovulating due to lots of physical activity why is that considered bad?

 

We know that more cycles over the life of a woman in general increases her risk of certain cancers. The estrogen is the main culprit. The less estrogen over the years the better for decreasing risk. This is why women who don't have breaks from menstrual cycles from pregnancy/breastfeeding are at higher risk of certain cancers. The earlier a girl starts her periods the higher the risk of these cancers because that is that much more estrogen during her life.

 

My friend's dd was 14 when she started her period (she was not physically active) and the doctor was thrilled. The doctor told my friend that the later a girl starts the better for her overall health life long.

 

Women who don't have pregnancies are often advised to take BC to take a break from the never ending estrogen surges every month.

 

So I'm confused as to why suppressed ovulation due to physical activity would be unhealthy. I'm not being snarky. I just don't consider it unhealthy.

 

Low body fat does not necessarily suppress ovulation. When I conceived all my babies I weighed between 94-96 lbs.

Estrogen is important in bone development.

[Pawz4me]

I can't tell you why it's considered unhealthy, but I can tell you that twenty or so years ago when I was into dieting and exercising I stopped having periods. And my gynecologist was absolutely insistent that I take hormones at least every three months to trigger a period. That was a long time ago, though, and it's possible the thinking has changed. FWIW, I wasn't particularly thin at the time, or at least not according to height/weight charts. But according to my doc I was thinner than my body thought I should be, and that was all that mattered.

[Mom-ninja.]

Estrogen is important in bone development.

 

 

Thanks. Considering that the child/early teen years is when most of the bone foundation is set for the rest of a woman's life proper bone growth is important.

[Momof3littles]

I can't tell you why it's considered unhealthy, but I can tell you that twenty or so years ago when I was into dieting and exercising I stopped having periods. And my gynecologist was absolutely insistent that I take hormones at least every three months to trigger a period. That was a long time ago, though, and it's possible the thinking has changed. FWIW, I wasn't particularly thin at the time, or at least not according to height/weight charts. But according to my doc I was thinner than my body thought I should be, and that was all that mattered.

Same, except my BMI was probably lower end of normal. I ate plenty, but was thin due to serious training as a long distance runner. In some cases the endometrial lining still builds up but isn't shed, and that can put someone at risk of endometrial cancer. (edited to add: I am not sure that happens as much with athletes, but it was a concern my doctor expressed years ago. As an adult woman with PCOS, my specialists don't want me to go more than 3 months without a cycle for this reason. Thankfully I now cycle pretty normally on metformin and LC). In high school, I was put on BCP so that I would cycle more regularly.

 

In my case, that was good and not so good. What I really had was PCOS, but it was missed because everyone chalked my wonky cycles up to long distance running. I am sure I had some excercise induced amenorrhea too, but I also had PCOS. Unfortunately since the BCP gave me semi normal, very light, but regular periods, I had no idea I had PCOS. I had very few of the external symptoms. I had never heard of or even considered a diagnosis of PCOS until I was in my early to mid 20s, went off BCP, and wasn't cycling at all. At some point I started adding it up and figured it out, and was diagnosed by a reproductive endocrinologist after being brushed off by my ob/gyn and told to "gain weight."

 

I also had a stress fracture in high school that progressed to a full blown fracture.

[cathmom]

One of my sisters didn't start her period until 16 or 17. She was the smallest of the four of us, all girls. Then she ended up the tallest because of all that extra time to grow! I wore her hand me downs way earlier than the age she was when she wore the same clothes.

 

[TraceyS/FL]

Estrogen is also a key part in brain rewiring in girls during puberty. My daughter is on estrogen to induce puberty because she has Turners Syndrome and an almost non-existent chance of puberty on her own. I have been hesitant to start the process because once it starts, we will end up losing growth time. However, when doing a research paper for school I kept coming across the articles about how much it helps the cognitive side of things. OK THEN, I'm all for it now! :p

 

I would check with your doctor, it probably is related to the time in the gym, but it can still be something to watch.

 

 

Here is the reference I used most in the paper - if anyone wants to read it. There were a couple of those that said the same thing, but I don't have them in my reference list because I ended up not using them in the paper.

 

Holm, K., & Teilmann, G. (2009). Puberty - the transition between childhood and

adulthood. In Turner - know your body! (pp. 36-43). Retrieved from

http://np.netpublicator.com/netpublication/n75088268

[blondeviolin]

I didn't start menstruating till I was nearly 16. I was on a recreational gymnastics team, but I doubt that played much into it as it wasn't very competitive at all.

[Janie Grace]

I didn't get my period until I was sixteen. I've no idea when other changes started.

 

Laura

 

I got my period at 16, too. I got breast buds at 13 and started wearing a bra for coverage, but did not need one for support til a year or two later. I was thin and my mom was a late bloomer.

[MyThreeSons]

I didn't get my period until I was sixteen. I've no idea when other changes started.

 

ETA: I wasn't an athlete, just late.

 

Laura

 

Same for me.

 

I didn't know until years later that my Mom was concerned, mainly because I was tall. I guess there's something about girls not growing much after they begin puberty. She was worried that I'd get really tall, LOL.

[qtkimi]

I started my period at 14 I think I maybe started wearing an Acup at 13 or so. I didn't get real boobs until I had my first son.

[CatholicMom]

So if a girl is not ovulating due to lots of physical activity why is that considered bad?

 

We know that more cycles over the life of a woman in general increases her risk of certain cancers. The estrogen is the main culprit. The less estrogen over the years the better for decreasing risk. This is why women who don't have breaks from menstrual cycles from pregnancy/breastfeeding are at higher risk of certain cancers. The earlier a girl starts her periods the higher the risk of these cancers because that is that much more estrogen during her life.

 

My friend's dd was 14 when she started her period (she was not physically active) and the doctor was thrilled. The doctor told my friend that the later a girl starts the better for her overall health life long.

 

Women who don't have pregnancies are often advised to take BC to take a break from the never ending estrogen surges every month.

 

So I'm confused as to why suppressed ovulation due to physical activity would be unhealthy. I'm not being snarky. I just don't consider it unhealthy.

 

Low body fat does not necessarily suppress ovulation. When I conceived all my babies I weighed between 94-96 lbs.

 

 

Yup, like someone else said, estrogen production is very important for healthy bones. Pregnancy & breastfeeding is a very normal, healthy, natural stage for women to go through, which not only gives the ovaries a rest but has protective effects against cancers and other things for the breasts and all reproductive organs. Pregnancy hormones are completely natural hormones (birth control are not, obviously as they are man-made and do not function the exact same way). We are definitely meant to have babies and that is healthy. But when not pregnant, we are also meant to ovulate. Essentially, a woman who is not ovulating is infertile. That doesn't *seem* to be a problem if the woman doesn't want to get pregnant anyway, but the objective fact is that the woman is infertile and infertility is a sign of something being wrong with the body. In this case (not necessarily the OP - I just mean in the case of sports induced amenorrhea), the body is under too much physical stress (with or without too little body fat) to carry out this necessary function. Everything in the body is related, so when one system isn't working right, it's going to have effects on other parts of your body... in this case we know it especially affects the bones. I've read that the bone loss that occurs during athletic amenorrhea can never be completely reversed.

 

This article sums up the dangers (esp the bone loss) pretty well:

Sports Induced Amenorrhea

 

(Though in the OP's case I wouldn't worry yet about this. The athletic amenorrhea issue is when they've already started their periods and then stop having periods or have them much less often than is normal. The OP's dd might not be ready to start menstruating yet, period. < *slaps knee* I crack me up. :laugh: )

[Mandamom]

I had the afternoon at the gym so I had the opportunity to talk puberty with some of the other team gym moms.

 

Interesting discussion on this board and at the gym.

 

In talking to several of the moms, those with younger girls (11 and younger) who have started their period said their daughter followed their own pattern of development. Those of older girls (12+) who hadn't started their period said that their girls are following their pattern of development.

 

There do seemed to be a couple of moms that were thinking that the gym was causing a delay in cycling but since they are still within normal limits they aren't terribly worried. Watchful but not worried.

 

I started my period around 13.5 years old but I think I had a bra by the time I was 12. I guess I figured my older daughter would be first in line for a real bra but it looks like my younger will be.

 

Also, one of the moms happens to be a breast cancer (remission) survivor and told us that her doctor said that it would be better if her daughter started her period later (she started at age 11) because the excess estrogen would increase her risk of bc.

 

Thanks for the discussion. I appreciate it.