Health Care Professionals and Intersex Conditions

A s part of a larger project, a multidisciplinary group convened by The Hastings Center,Garrison, NY,met to considermedical, psychosocial, and ethical issues associated withthe care of children born with atypical genitalia or later found to have other condi-tions now commonly grouped together as “intersex. ” These children may have con-genital adrenal hyperplasia, gonadal dysgenesis, hypospadias, partial or complete androgen insen-sitivity syndrome, etc. This commentary reflects the deliberations of the group, which concluded that none of the appearance-altering surgeries need to be performed quickly; families with chil-dren with intersex conditions require multidisciplinary care; children with intersex conditions de-serve to know the truth about their bodies; families and health care professionals will benefit from rigorous longitudinal studies; and health care professionals need additional training about inter-sex conditions and sexual health generally. Parents andphysicians of childrenwith in-tersex conditions rarely know about the conditionbeforebirth.Therecognition that a child does not appear typically “male” or “female ” prompts distress, confusion, and uncertainty, no matter the age at di-agnosis. When health care professionals