Lübeck Clinic: Help for Integlable Children and their parents!

Lübeck Clinic: Help for Integlable Children and their parents!

Universitätsklinikum Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH) Lübeck, 23538 Lübeck, Deutschland - In Lübeck, the University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH) offers a unique "consultation hour for people with biological variants of gender development" who supports parents in difficult times. This Initiative is a contact point for parents whose children cannot be clearly identified as male or female. A haunting case affects the mother Silke and her son Louis, who was born with a pronounced hypospadie. The diagnosis was initially confusing when a genetic test showed that 78 percent of Louis' chromosome sets are female, which led to the realization that it is interluded.

"Until then it was clear to us: there are only boys or girls," admits Silke, who was faced with numerous fears. "How will our child develop? Will it be bullied?" Questions about questions that came to Silke while trying to deal with the new information. The contact with the association "Integrame People e.V." provided valuable help, especially through expert advice from people who have had similar experiences. The "consultation hour" at the UKSH takes care of all concerns, from hormone therapies to questions about fertility, and takes care of the parents that they could have done something wrong during pregnancy.

expertise and support for parents

The experienced pediatric and adolescent doctor Prof. Olaf Hiort explains that such genetic variants occur in around one of 2,500 newborns. In the past, invasive procedures for "gender adaptation" were often carried out, today it is based on self -determination. Silke describes how crucial the queues are in the consultation for parents. "If necessary, hormone therapies and operations can be useful, but we want to have the child decided what they want." This contributed to the pressure of Silke and her son. Louis, who is now in kindergarten, is informed about his identity and encouraged to be proud of himself.