With puberty starting earlier than ever, doctors urge greater awareness and care

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NBC News contributor Caroline Hopkins is a health and science journalist who covers cancer treatment for Precision Oncology News. She is a graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Jennifer Benton’s daughter was just 5 years old when her kindergarten teacher pointed out something unusual: the young girl was developing breasts. “It was really alarming,” said Benton, 39. “She may have been a tall little girl, but she was still a little girl.” It was 2019 and the little girl loved playing with dolls, going out for ice cream, and watching her favorite Nick Jr. cartoon, “Bubble Guppies.” “How is her body older than her actual age?” Benton remembers asking.

She then discovered there had been no mention of “precocious puberty” in her daughter's medical charts or visit notes at all, even after Benton had asked about it multiple times. Some doctors previously suggested the diagnosis age for early puberty should be earlier for Black girls than for white girls.

 

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