Transgender Youth and Puberty Suppression

Puberty suppression is a process whereby gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues (GnRHa) are administered to suspend pubertal development. Puberty suppression is followed by administration of cross-sex hormones and possibly gender-affirming surgery. For children who experience persistent gender dysphoria—that is, they experience their gender as different from the sex they were assigned at birth—puberty suppression is a method that allows the child and family time to consider developmental options. Standards for the treatment of transgender children have evolved over time, since the first child transsexuals were treated with estrogen in the late 1940s and early 1950s by Dr. Harry Benjamin in the United States and also by doctors in Berlin and Denmark. The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH, formerly titled “Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association”) ...