Is it normal for a newborn's testicles not to have descended?

When the fetus is in the womb, the testicles are located in the abdomen. During the development process, the testicles will slowly descend as the body grows. At nine months, the testicles will enter the scrotum. Many baby boys do not have their testicles descended to the scrotum after birth. This situation may fully recover within two months after birth, and the more delayed one is three months. If it cannot recover, parents need to take their children to the hospital for examination.

Is it normal for a newborn's testicles not to have descended?

Don't worry, when the fetus is in the uterus, the testicles are located in the abdominal cavity. During development, the testicles gradually descend. Generally, by the 9th month of development, the testicles can descend into the scrotum. About 3% of male babies are born with testicles that have not yet descended into the scrotum, but this process is completed 1 to 2 months after birth. If two testicles are still not felt in the scrotum of a male baby 3 months after birth, cryptorchidism should be suspected. Cryptorchidism can lead to infertility and induce testicular tumors, so it must be discovered early and treated in time.

Sometimes one or both testicles fail to fall into the scrotum before a baby boy is born. Therefore, male babies usually have to undergo examinations after birth to confirm whether their testicles have fallen into the scrotum normally. The testicles are located in the posterior waist and outside the peritoneum in the embryo. As the fetus grows, the testicles slowly descend and eventually settle in the scrotum. However, when it descends, it will bring the peritoneum down with it to form the process vaginalis. During the entire descent process, mechanical or endocrine factors prevent it from descending, causing it to stop somewhere and not reach the scrotum, thus resulting in cryptorchidism. Generally, the descent process of the testicles of a baby boy has not stopped by the time he is one year old. Therefore, if your baby is not yet one year old, don't worry and you can wait for it to descend. If it has not decreased after the age of 1, it will not decrease anymore. Appropriate surgery should be performed, especially for children with unilateral cryptorchidism.

Hormone therapy may be able to lower bilateral cryptorchidism into the scrotum in mild cases, but it may not be able to completely lower it into the scrotum in severe cases, but it may help with surgical treatment. Commonly used hormones such as human chorionic gonadotropin have no effect on the baby when used in the short term, and their effects will gradually disappear after discontinuation of the medication.