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Sexual crisis in newborns
Last reviewed: 04.07.2025
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Sexual crisis in newborns is the symptoms of changes in the skin, skin glands, genitals and some other systems, which are caused by the action of maternal sex hormones. Such changes are typical for children in the first twenty-eight days of life and are transient conditions of newborns. Mothers first of all need to know about the main signs in order to prevent complications in time.
[ Causes of pubertal crisis in newborns
The term "crisis" itself denotes any sudden change in the body, the cause of which is not so important, but the manifestations can be very diverse. So in the body of a newborn child, in connection with its birth, many changes occur to adapt to the external environment. Hormonal changes, which directly depend on the mother's body, play an important role in this.
During pregnancy, for normal development of the fetus, it is necessary to have a sufficient amount of estrogens and progesterone, regardless of the sex of the child. This is necessary for the development of the genitals, but also for the formation of many glands and their normal function. Therefore, during pregnancy, the level of mother's hormones increases to provide for both the mother and the fetus. The action and quantity of these hormones may be insufficient, then there may be threats from the fetus. Excess sex hormones can also give clinical manifestations in the form of a sexual crisis.
Therefore, the main reason for any manifestations of sexual crisis in a child can be considered the influence of the mother's sex hormones during pregnancy. They are synthesized by the adrenal glands, ovaries, and placenta and affect many organs of the child. Therefore, after birth, the baby may have some manifestations from the genitals, skin, and mammary glands. This is considered a completely normal phenomenon and does not require any treatment.
But the sexual crisis does not manifest itself in all children, and only 76% of all newborns have such changes. Therefore, it is necessary to identify risk groups for this pathology in order to know about the possibility of such manifestations and reassure the mother in a timely manner.
If the pregnancy was planned in advance, then hormonal screening is carried out and, if problems are detected, the hormone levels are adjusted. In such cases, no problems usually arise with a planned pregnancy. The risk group includes women who have miscarriage or a threat of miscarriage, which requires external intervention. The cause of this condition in most cases is a lack of mother's sex hormones for implantation of the embryo and normal blood circulation. Therefore, if there is a threat, additional hormone replacement therapy is carried out. If the amount of such therapy exceeds the norm, then the hormones affect the baby and cause symptoms. Women with concomitant pathology also belong to the risk group. If there is late gestosis, this can also cause the appearance of symptoms of a sexual crisis.
In any case, this is a physiological phenomenon and complications can only occur with concomitant secondary infections. Therefore, it is necessary to know the manifestations of not only normal symptoms, but also possible complications.
Symptoms of pubertal crisis in newborns
Symptoms of sexual crisis may appear immediately after birth or some time after birth. If the amount of hormones is high, then the manifestations may be present in utero and they appear immediately after birth. The first signs may appear already in the first week of the child's life, and should decrease by the end of the first month.
Symptoms can vary greatly and depend on the organs that are affected.
One of the manifestations of the sexual crisis is an increase or engorgement of the mammary glands. The peculiarities of the effect of estrogens in utero on the fetus are that the milk ducts and the number of muscle fibers increase under their influence. This is accompanied by an increase in the size of the gland, its engorgement. This process is considered physiological engorgement of the mammary glands and does not require any action. In this case, the child's appetite is preserved, sleep is not disturbed, he gains enough weight, the stool is normal, and there are no signs of intoxication. The enlargement of the mammary glands in newborns and their engorgement occurs gradually, usually on both sides. In this case, the breast increases evenly up to three centimeters. Such swelling of the mammary gland is not accompanied by reddening of the skin and this does not bother the child. If you try it with your mother's hands, then such compaction of the child's breast is not dense, uniform, and the child does not scream or react when palpated. Discharge from the mammary glands in newborns can be in the form of a serous transparent or slightly whitish fluid. Such symptoms are not characteristic of a disease, but of the normal process of sexual crisis in a child, which can develop in all children. Such a process does not last more than two weeks, and by the end of the first month of life, all these symptoms gradually disappear.
Milia is one of the symptoms of sexual crisis, which occurs with increased action of sex hormones on the fetus. This is accompanied by blockage of the sebaceous glands and disruption of the secretion outflow. This phenomenon begins in the first week of the child's life and during the second or third week everything should pass. This is manifested by the appearance of white-yellow dots on the face, they are localized more often on the cheeks and forehead. Such dots do not itch, do not hurt and do not disturb the general condition of the child. There is also no rise in temperature, which indicates a physiological course of the process.
Enlargement of the genitals and bloody discharge from the vagina - this is also a manifestation of the sexual crisis in girls. Often mothers complain of vaginal discharge in girls, which can occur as early as the third day after birth. They can be white or yellow, or bloody. The genitals can also enlarge in such a way that the labia minora extend beyond the labia majora, creating the impression of swelling. But this is not true at all if such changes do not disturb the girl's condition. In any case, it is better if you consult a doctor. But if this appears in the first week of a newborn baby's life, then if all the rules for caring for the child are followed, infection can be excluded. Therefore, the main cause of such symptoms is the physiological effect of sex hormones.
If the discharge is white, then we are talking about desquamative vulvovaginitis. This condition occurs when, under the influence of hormones, the upper layer of the epithelium of the girl's vagina is exfoliated and this is accompanied by such discharge. There is usually a small amount of it and it can look like white discharge on the labia themselves. They are odorless and light in color. This indicates a normal reaction to hormonal imbalance in the mother during pregnancy.
Complications and consequences
The consequences of a sexual crisis pass without a trace, unless of course there are secondary complications. Among such complications, the most common may be infection due to improper care or excessive intervention. Then furunculosis of the skin or phlegmon may develop, which for such a small child threatens serious consequences. Complications of engorgement of the mammary glands may occur when an infection gets in and purulent foci form in the form of purulent mastitis.
The process of sexual crisis itself is not as serious as its complications. Therefore, it is important to prevent such complications first of all. And prevention is very simple - it is important not to interfere with the normal process of changes and just take care of it as if it were a healthy child. In this case, the prognosis for the complete disappearance of symptoms is very favorable and by the end of the first month everything should disappear.
Diagnostics of pubertal crisis in newborns
Diagnosis of sexual crisis in newborns should be carried out primarily to exclude pathological conditions. Therefore, in case of any health conditions of a newborn child that worry the mother, it is necessary to consult a doctor. If the condition is physiological, then no additional studies are needed. After all, any invasive intervention at this age is undesirable.
Differential diagnosis
Differential diagnostics of sexual crisis should be carried out primarily with those conditions that can cause similar, but pathological symptoms. The first differential sign is a violation of the general condition of the child. If the child's body temperature rises or he refuses to breastfeed, cries or is capricious, then when symptoms appear from the genitals or mammary glands, you need to think about possible complications. If the child had engorgement of the mammary glands and everything was normal, but suddenly he began to lose weight or refuse to breastfeed with a piercing cry, then you need to think about the disease. Often the disease develops at the end of the first month of the child's life, when physiological swelling should pass, then an infection can join and mastitis develops. Mastitis is an inflammation of the mammary gland in an infant, which equally occurs in girls and boys. Therefore, physiological engorgement, as a manifestation of sexual crisis, must first of all be differentiated from mastitis. Mastitis has externally distinctive signs - reddening of the skin, an increase in local and systemic temperature, an acute deterioration in the child's condition.
When talking about bloody vaginal discharge, it is necessary to conduct differential diagnostics between sexual crisis and hemorrhagic disease of the newborn. Here, the main role is played by the amount of discharge, which is minimal during a crisis, and with hemorrhagic disease it is manifested by massive bleeding, including from other organs.
Milia must be differentiated from infectious skin lesions of various etiologies. But in infectious diseases, rashes are accompanied by persistent changes in the skin, there may be the formation of bullae or pustules, which are clearly visible visually.
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Treatment of pubertal crisis in newborns
Treatment of sexual crisis in normal physiological conditions is not required, since after two weeks the amount of hormones in the child's body decreases and the symptoms themselves disappear without a trace. But proper care of the skin and genitals is necessary at this time. It is necessary to perform all the same hygiene measures as before. The child's skin should always be clean, dry, without tight clothing or rubbing. If milia appears, you just need to bathe the child daily in boiled water without additional special procedures and medications. Such dots cannot be squeezed out or anything done to them, then there will be no complications. If the girl has vaginal discharge, then it is simply necessary to wash the genitals more often with boiled water without additional means.
Proper care of your baby's skin and prevention of complications is the best treatment that can be given for this condition.
Speaking about medications, their use can only be in the presence of strict indications, for example, when purulent complications appear. In mastitis, surgical intervention is also used.
Sexual crisis in newborns is detected very often, especially in healthy children born on time. And this is not a pathology, does not require treatment if these are physiological manifestations. But the first symptoms of a violation of the general condition of the child are an indication for a doctor's consultation, and only he can calm the mother and give recommendations on caring for the child.