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A doctor has issued a stark warning to parents about exposing their children to 'potent' products after a baby girl bizarrely grew a 'micropenis' from cuddling with her dad.
The strange case stunned doctors in Sweden, but according to Professor Jovanna Dahlgren, there's been half a dozen incidents of its kind - that she's aware of.
The paediatric endocrinology expert, who works at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, said she's witnessed parents become 'completely desperate' when they realise whats gone on. She is now urging adults who are using hormone treatments to be extremely cautious around little ones, due to the risks they pose to their early development.
In terms of the baby girl, she had been repeatedly laid on her father's bare chest so that she could have some skin-to-skin contact with her dad.
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This is considered a key part of the bonding stage for new parents, who are encouraged to hold their infants against their naked skin. According to the NHS, this allows newborns to 'hear the comforting sound of your heartbeat and voice, which will help calm and relax them'.
It also helps regulate your baby's temperature, breathing, and heart rate, as well as building up your baby's immunity to infections.
However, the little girl's father had been using a testosterone gel product, which is an artificial version of the male hormone.
It's commonly prescribed as a treatment to blokes whose bodies do not make enough testosterone naturally.
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Mayo Clinic explains that after applying it, fellas should 'allow the skin to air-dry, then cover with clothing to prevent others from coming in contact with the medication on your skin'.
But it seems this father missed the memo on this, as he unknowingly laid his little girl down on his chest without realising he was exposing her to the hormone.
As a result, the baby's genitalia underwent a series of bizarre changes - her clitoris grew longer, almost resembling a small penis, while her labia fused together in a shape which resembled a male scrotum.
Local media dubbed this a 'micropenis', although Swedish medics explained this is incorrect, as that term actually describes underdeveloped male genitalia.
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When the baby girl was 10 months old, her concerned parents sought advice from health professionals, who quickly got to the bottom of the unusual case.
Blood tests revealed that the tot had dangerously high levels of testosterone in her system.
Incredibly, her genitalia began to shrink back to normal proportions when she was no longer being exposed to the hormone.
Professor Dahlgren explained the medical saga took place eight years ago - but warned she has seen similar cases emerge since then.
That's why she wants to encourage parents to be wary of the dangerous which come with hormone treatments, especially those which are applied to the bare skin.
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"I don't think people always understand how potent these treatments are," she told Swedish newspaper Göteborgs-Posten.
"The parents become completely desperate when they understand what has happened."
In a similar case, a 10-year-old boy grew breasts after he was exposed to a female sex hormone treatment which his mother had been taking.
Topics: Health, Parenting, Weird, World News
Olivia Burke