NewsSquawk, May 20, 2008
Hot topic alert! A doctor at Children’s Hospital in Boston is being heavily criticized for running programs to help children who think they may be transgendered. And he takes patients starting from age 7! What does he offer? Counseling, and drug treatment that will delay puberty so that the child can have some extra years to grow up to determine if they in fact want to change sex. It is proven that untreated children have a much higher risk of suicide, while there are no cases of suicide for a child who had started hormonal treatments. But critics are coming down hard.
>>“Treating these children with hormones does considerable harm and it compounds their confusion,” said Dr. Paul McHugh, University Distinguished Service Professor of Psychiatry at John Hopkins University. “Trying to delay puberty or change someone’s gender is a rejection of the lawfulness of nature.”
McHugh said gender reassignment for children hearkens back to the dark ages, when choir boys were castrated to retain their high-pitched voices. “It’s barbaric,” he said.
I am sure there will be a lot of opinions out there. Let’s hear it. For me? Frankly I do not know what I would do if I had a young child who could be transgendered. I do know that I would be interested to know as much as possible about it, and most certainly counseling would be a part. My son, who is now 12, has had a boy in his class since 2nd grade who wears girl’s clothes and jewelry. Thankfully he is not teased, however I often think about him and hope that he and his family are at peace and they are making the right decisions.
Morning sickness is good. Well, it certainly does not feel good at the time, but doctors have found it to serve a very useful purpose - to protect mother and baby from things that may be harmful.
Other theories were that the mother and baby were fighting over resources, however they think this is not the case, because if it would other mammals would suffer it as well. And they don’t - only humans. So, back to the other theory. Morning sickness is often triggered against smells of meat and strong veggies, and smoke and alcohol - all of these things that could cause birth defects in a child. Also, morning sickness symptoms peak at the time in the pregnancy when organ development is most susceptible to chemical disruptions, weeks 6-18.
So, even though it is really sucky to experience, try to realize your body is doing what it needs to help ensure a safe and healthy pregnancy.
