GROWING UP: PHYSIOLOGICAL PROBLEMS

Parents often worry either when the boy is a baby, or at puberty, that his testicles are not normal. This anxiety increases if they believe that he will develop abnormally and be unable to father children. Their anxiety may communicate itself to the boy and can cause considerable psychological stress.

In over 99 per cent of boys the testicles can be felt in the scrotum either at birth or within a few weeks, but they may be drawn up out of the scrotum by cold or by crying, so that it may appear empty. If a boy’s testicles are ‘undescended’, it is important that this should be detected before his first birthday. An examination should be made by the doctor at the time of the baby’s birth. If testicles are not found in his scrotum, he should be re-examined 6 to 8 weeks later, and if they are still not in his scrotum, again when he is about 9 months old.

Baby boys – about 8 in every 1000 – whose testicles are not found in their scrotum by the first birthday require an operation to bring them down and fix them in the scrotum, so that they grow normally and function properly after puberty. The operation is usually done before the boy is 5 years old.

Until puberty the testicles remain small, when, between the age of 12 and 17, a spurt of growth enlarges them. Many parents (and some boys) are unaware that there is such a wide age range during which the testicles may grow, and become unduly concerned if they think that the testicles are smaller than they should be.

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