Baby girl develops micro penis after exposure to dad’s testosterone gel
A baby girl developed male characteristics after exposure to father's testosterone gel.
Image: IOL Ron AI
A tender bonding moment between a father and his newborn daughter took an alarming turn after what should have been nurturing skin-to-skin contact instead became a source of inadvertent hormonal exposure.
A baby girl in Sweden reportedly developed a condition described as virilisation - the development of male physical characteristics after lying on her father’s bare chest shortly after birth.
Unbeknownst to the parents, the father had been prescribed testosterone gel for hypogonadism, a condition that leads to low testosterone production in men.
The gel is typically applied to the upper body, including the chest, shoulders or arms, areas that are commonly exposed during infant bonding sessions.
It wasn’t long before the child’s mother noticed unusual changes. Her daughter’s clitoris began to enlarge and her labia started to fuse, giving her genitals a distinctly masculinised appearance.
Concerned, the parents brought their 10-month-old to a doctor, where blood tests confirmed she had been exposed to high levels of testosterone.
Professor Jovanna Dahlgren, a paediatric endocrinologist at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, said the incident is one of at least six similar cases she has encountered. “I don’t think people always understand how potent these treatments are,” she told Swedish news outlet Göteborgs-Posten.
Dahlgren recalled another case in which a 10-year-old boy developed breast tissue after being exposed to his mother’s oestrogen cream.
These incidents, though rare, highlight a critical issue: transference of topical hormone medications to children through routine physical contact.
Fortunately, in the Swedish girl’s case, her symptoms gradually reversed after her father discontinued use of the gel and exposure stopped.
IOL Lifestyle