Once the child is born, testosterone production quickly tapers off and stops altogether in a matter of weeks. The resulting lack of the hormone within in the body causes the testes of male children to remain in an undeveloped condition. It is not until the onset of puberty when the pituitary gland begins to produce gonadotropic hormones that sexual maturation of the testes takes place. The hormones secreted by the gland promote tissue growth in the testes, eventually making it possible for the reproductive glands to generate both sperm and androgens.