management
Last reviewed 01/2018
The management of ambiguous genitalia depends on the underlying cause, but there are some underlying principles:
- urgent investigation so that the gender of the child may be determined as soon as possible
- avoidance of making a guess at the sex, which will be hard to go back on. Difficult as it may seem, the infant should not be refered to in a gender-specific way, nor should the term "it" be used as it can be regarded as dehumanising. Many professionals refer to baby as "baby" which, with care, gets around most of the problems
- encouraging the parents not to name the child until the sex is determined, especially avoiding using ambiguous names like Leslie / Lesley
Eventual gender assignment is based on a variety of factors including chromosomal sex, available tissue for plastic construction of phallus in males, and other issues. It is said that around 2.5 cm of tissue is required to construct a penis in an infant.