What factors affect the early maturation of girls and what are the signs of your child’s maturity?
Undoubtedly, puberty is one of the most remarkable phenomena in the path of human development. Without maturity, it is not possible to continue human life, and for this reason, the exact understanding of maturity and its disorders is of particular importance.
Dr. Maleeha Mirshe Panah, a surgeon and gynecologist, says about this: Puberty is the period during which secondary sexual characteristics (breast growth, pubic hair growth, and menstruation) appear and reproduce. Although the mechanisms that cause hormonal changes during puberty are not well known, evidence shows that the central nervous system inhibits the onset of puberty until the appropriate time. According to him, the set of changes caused by the influence of the hypothalamus and pituitary on the ovary causes puberty.
Factors affecting the onset of puberty:
1- The most important factor is the individual’s genetic condition: (the approximate timing of menstruation in sisters, daughters and mothers and in people of the same race confirms this).
2-Nutrition: In people with moderate obesity (30% more than normal weight), the age of first menstruation is advanced, and on the contrary, in people with severe malnutrition, it is delayed.
3- General health: Puberty is delayed in girls who suffer from weakness and insufficiency of physical strength for some reason (for example, due to severe chronic diseases).
4- Geographical location: the age of puberty is lower in girls who are near the equator or live in low altitude areas.
5- The amount of contact with light: In places where people live collectively and sleep and wake up at certain times, such as dormitories, the menstrual periods become almost the same.
6-Psychological condition: psychological issues have a great impact on puberty and also on the regularity of periods, and the reason for this is the proximity of the parts related to sex hormones (hypothalamus) with mental issues. One of the evidences of this is the occurrence of premature puberty in most cases when the father is at home. is not.
7- Consumption or contact with chemicals that destroy or stimulate sex hormone production centers (chemotherapy, radiation therapy, etc.).
One of the most controversial theories about the onset of the first menstruation is the effect of a critical weight of 47.8 kg. That is, body fat must reach 23.5% for the first period to occur.
Stages of maturity:
Puberty development in girls usually takes 4.5 years and the following steps apply in most cases. The stages of maturity are:
1-Acceleration in height growth 2-Breast growth 3-Growth of pubic and armpit hair 4-Maximum speed of height growth 5-Start of first menstruation 6-Other physical changes during puberty that do not have a specific order are changes in the vocal cords that cause changes it sounds 7-Also, the appearance of acne and scalp fat that may appear at any stage.
Acceleration of height growth: the secretion of growth hormone increases simultaneously with the increase of sex hormones at the beginning of puberty. Girls reach their maximum height growth before the first menstruation and after that the growth will be very little. During the period of rapid growth, girls increase in height by an average of 25 cm. Finally, the stage of rapid growth of epiphyses in long bones (femur, leg, forearm and arm bones) is closed.
A practical method for predicting the possible final length of height on average in adulthood is to use the average height of the parents. For girls, 13 cm is less than the father’s height. The amount of body fat in girls is almost twice that of boys, which is in the form of fat accumulation in the thighs and hips and is regulated by the estrogen hormone.
Breast growth: At first, it looks like a small lump and in some cases it is unilateral at first, which causes parents to worry and think that it is a gland or tumor, which is confirmed by visiting a gynecologist and checking other symptoms and the age of the patient. And in case of suspicion, ultrasound and other measures should be performed. The full growth of breasts usually takes about 3-3.5 years, and sometimes its final growth is delayed until the time of the first pregnancy.
