Mel

Congratulations on your baby daughter.  This will seem like a rollercoaster time but it does get easier.  For me CAH is just a part of who my daughter is and it has caused us little concern.  Her bloods have been steady and we usually only go to the hospital for 6 monthly checkups.  she is nearly 2 now.  i have been keeping in touch with the surgery issue on this site.  It wasn’t something i considered for my daughter so i didn’t research it much when she was younger.   I personally think that it would depend very much on the extent of the virilisation and how you as parents can deal with it.  I am planning another pregnancy and am not going to take any steroid treatment.  If I do have an affected daughter with severe virilisation I would have to consider surgery but my gut feeling now is that i would not do it for fear of difficulties later in life.  One thing I can say is that my daughter’s virilisation is becoming less obvious as she grows and does not seem to cause her any concern now.  She goes to a nursery where others change her nappy, etc.  Like Cherry Lane has said though, this is all really your own decision.  I think the more you research it the more informed you are and you can explain to your daughter later in life that you made an informed decision with her best interests at heart.  I don’t think that a parent can do more than that.  All the best

Joanne