Let’s talk about puberty blockers

Here are a few things to know about puberty blockers: 

• They temporarily pause puberty.
• They won’t reverse any pubertal changes that have already happened. 
• They are reversible.
• They have been safely used in children for over 40 years.
• They can reduce the need for gender-affirming hormones and surgery in the future.
• They can have few, but easily manageable side effects.
• They may increase the overall well-being of some people living with gender incongruence and gender dysphoria*.

*Gender incongruence is when a person’s experience of their gender doesn’t match the sex they were assigned at birth. This can mean they strongly feel they are a different gender, wish to be treated as a different gender, or wish for their body to have features more like the gender they feel inside. The feeling of distress that can arise from this incongruence is referred to as gender dysphoria (2,20). 

Resources

Mental Health Helplines & Resources | ScienceUpFirst