Mom Defends Decision to Take Her Toddler for an Illegal Medical Procedure

Newsweek

21-05-2025

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Getting your first period has long been a pivotal marker of puberty, but the latest research suggests it might not be something to celebrate.
Menarche—the age at onset of menstruation—is now earlier than ever. Data shows the average age for a girl's first period is 11.9 years, with 16 percent starting before age 11 in the United States.
What is even more alarming about starting your period early is the increased risk of hormone-related cancers. For instance, girls who start their period before age 12 have a 23 percent higher risk of developing breast cancer compared to those who start at 15. Additionally, early menarche has been linked to increased risks of endometrial and ovarian cancers.
Young girls playing on rope swing in park with blue sky in background.
Young girls playing on rope swing in park with blue sky in background.
@bec_kinderman
"Early onset of menarche is associated with higher risk of miscarriage, more menstrual cramping, more painful and irregular periods, higher risk of preterm delivery, reproductive cancers, anxiety and depression," Elena Bridgers, a science writer who specializes in maternal wellness and mental health, told Newsweek.
"We are not sure whether early onset of menarche causes these things, or whether there is a third explanatory variable, like obesity, that causes both early onset of menarche and puts girls at higher risk for depression. But, on the whole, I think we can safely say that starting your period too early is not a good thing."
Lara Briden, a doctor of naturopathic medicine with almost 30 years of experience in women's health, also said that very early menarche—before age 8—is considered abnormal and warrants medical attention.
"But even early menarche—before age 11—is not ideal," Briden told Newsweek. "From a health [and] biology perspective, early female puberty and menarche are also associated with a greater risk for insulin resistance, PCOS [polycystic ovary syndrome], and breast cancer later in life.
"Importantly, the early menarche may not directly cause those long-term health risks. Rather, it may simply be another manifestation or complication of the metabolic dysfunction (high insulin) that drives all the downstream health risks," Briden said.
But it wasn't always like this. In contemporary hunter-gatherer societies, Bridgers said that girls often start their periods as late as 17 and begin proper ovulation around 19. "So it's not just a temporal thing; it's also about geography and lifestyle," she added.
Briden, who is also the author of Period Repair Manual, said that the timing of female puberty is significantly influenced by food supply and environmental factors, leading to variations throughout human history.
She said that, during periods of scarcity, puberty tends to be delayed, while, in times of abundance, it generally occurs earlier, adding that male puberty is not as sensitive to food supply.
"The modern trend toward earlier menarche is, in part, a biological response to more reliable nutrition, which is a good thing," Briden said. "But it has also coincided with an alarming rise in metabolic dysfunction (insulin resistance), which now affects people across all ages. It's not just that metabolic problems are increasing. They're also amplifying in severity, and that's happening across generations because of epigenetics."
So, is it any wonder that moms doing everything they can to delay their daughters' first period to prevent the associated risks?
Nicky Skinner, a mother of two, told Newsweek that her goal is to delay her daughters' first menses, allowing their bodies to develop at a natural pace without artificially manipulating biology.
In a reel on Instagram (@nourished_and_vibrant), Skinner listed a host of reasons other moms might want to join her mission.
"It's about creating an environment that doesn't bring the period on prematurely," she said. "It's about an awareness that girls are starting to ovulate earlier, knowing that comes with risk, so doing what I can to ensure the environmental factors I can control as a mother—knowing there's a lot I can't control—are not impacting my girls' health in a negative way."
As a nurse and toxin educator, Skinner keeps abreast of the latest research around menarche and educates other families on removing harmful chemicals from their homes on her Instagram page.
While there is evidence that exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals—think: the shampoo in your bathroom or dish soaps under the sink—may influence hormonal development and timing of puberty, Bridgers said the findings are inconclusive.
"There's been a lot of hype about the effect of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), but the evidence for this is very mixed [as] many studies have failed to find any effect at all," Bridgers said. "Dodging EDCs is akin to trying to stay dry in a rainstorm without an umbrella."
In Skinner's home, she uses only fragrance-free and naturally scented laundry detergent, glass or stainless steel instead of plastic containers, and chooses organic produce where possible.
"When you learn what these chemicals can do, it's a natural flow on effect to change your decisions around products you use in your home and on your children as a result," Skinner said.
Rebecca Kinderman, another mom of two, is also on a mission to slow down the onset of puberty in her daughters by taking a holistic approach to their upbringing.
Like Skinner, Kinderman eats mostly organic food and doesn't use toxic chemicals in her house. Phones and social media are also off limits.
"Young girls are extremely impressionable, and preteens are at a pivotal age where they care a lot about what others think," Kinderman told Newsweek. "When they have access to the online world—especially social media, they cannot only try to emulate what they see but also seek external validation from others on the platform."
Instead of raising daughters glued to screens, Kinderman encourages them to get outside and play, while attending dance class a few times a week to stay active.
"I believe that if we can delay this part of 'growing up', especially when their brains are not developed enough to be able to handle everything that they could be exposed to online, we are allowing our girls to stay young for longer," Kinderman said. "We are allowing their brains to develop at the age and stage that it should."
Of course, Kinderman and Skinner acknowledge that, while moms can try their best to do everything they can to delay their daughters' first periods, it is no guarantee.
"It's important to remember that genetics play a big part in this, too," Skinner said. "If mother got her period early, even if you do everything 'right', the daughter may still menstruate earlier, too. There need be no shame or guilt around this."
Bridgers said that genetic factors at play and even environmental factors can be very hard to control, but believes that setting a goal to delay a girl's menarche can cause shame and failure for both parents and girls, and may lead to unhealthy parenting practices.
"I do think, however, that parents should do their best to make sure their children are eating a healthy diet and getting plenty of outdoor exercise," Bridgers said. "We know this will be good for them anyway."
Bridgers advised limiting sugars and processed foods, ensuring they have plenty of time outside and away from screens and avoiding heavy use of personal care products with known endocrine disrupters.
Briden said that, while something can be done, the goal shouldn't be to delay menarche.
"It's not about restriction or micromanaging childhood, and certainly not about calorie restriction for kids," she said, adding that she doesn't believe Skinner or Kinderman are suggesting this. "Instead, it's about trying to create or restore a food environment that allows normal human female physiology to unfold."
Both Kinderman and Skinner are also advocates of open conversation around periods with their daughters.
Kinderman told Newsweek that she is always been open with her girls about their cycles and puberty.
"My hopes are that, when it does happen, it will be a really positive experience for them," she said. "There won't be any fear or uncertainty. I've heard too many women share that they weren't prepared for it, mothers never talked about it or talked very little about it, and they got it young and felt scared. My hopes are that my girls feel excited for the day and will be celebrated when it happens."