The parents of a nine-year-old girl who suffers from a rare brain condition have said they are deliberately keeping her child-sized to give her a better life.
The youngster, named only as Ashley, suffers from static encephalopathy and cannot walk or talk.
Three years ago, fearing that she would one day become too big to lift or move easily, they took the decision to keep her small with a treatment known as growth attenuation.
Ashley, who doctors expect to have a normal lifespan, has had a hysterectomy, surgery to prevent breast growth and high doses of oestrogen that will keep her about four foot, five inches in height all her life. Her weight will remain at around five-and-a-half stone.
The high doses of oestrogen accelerated the early signs of puberty she was already showing to minimise her adult height and weight.
The couple decided she should have a hysterectomy and surgery to limit chest growth so she could avoid the discomfort of menstruation and having large breasts.
Had she not had the treatment the youngster - who is unable to keep her head up, roll over or sit up by herself and is fed by a tube - would probably have grown to around five foot, six inches and weighed almost nine stone.
Last year the process was described in a medical journal, provoking outrage from some medical professionals.
Now her parents, who have another daughter and a son, have decided to go public with a website explaining their choice. They said the main benefit of the height and weight reduction was that she could be moved much more often, which was better for her health and wellbeing.
PA