Girls and Puberty
External and *internal changes*
Visible changes
• Breast development
-feel sore at times
-one often develops
before the other
-can take 3-5 years
before fully developed
-often unequal in size
-size is primarily
determined by genes
• Height and weight
increase
-about 25% of the female
adult body is fat (15% of
the male body)
-23% of the female body is
muscle (40% of the male
body)
-Women can endure some
kinds of physical stress
more easily than men.
(famine, cold, and drought,
and do very well in
endurance sports)
Visible changes…
• Hips broaden to
prepare for delivery of
a baby
• Armpit hair
• Pubic hair
• Hair on arms and legs
?Questions?
1) What are breasts for?
2) What determines breast size?
3) Why do a girl’s hips get wider but a boy’s
don’t?
Female Reproductive System
• External Genitals
 Vulva (labia majora and minora) protects the internal
sex organs
 Clitoris –small, sensitive organ located above the
opening to the vagina
 Urethra, Vagina, Anus 3 openings
• Internal reproductive Organs
 Vagina
-leads to other internal reproductive organs
-used for menstruation, intercourse, childbirth
-thin membrane (hymen) surrounds the vaginal
opening
 Uterus
-also called the womb
-where the baby grows
-about the size of a pear
-enlarges during pregnancy (not the stomach)
 Fallopian Tubes
-2 tubes on either side of the uterus
-passageway from the uterus to ovary
 Ovaries
-females have 2
-reproductive glands
-start producing hormones at puberty
-hold about 250,000 ova (eggs) until puberty
 Ovum
-also called egg cell
-special cell, when united with male sperm cell, can create a baby
(this is called fertilization
• Female Reproductive System
(Handout)
Try to label.
Use the following words to try to
label the diagram:
Top diagram
Anus
Vaginal opening
Urethra
Labia majora
Labia minora
Clitoris
**Check answers next slide
Bottom diagram
Cervix
Ovary
Fallopian tubes
Rectum
Anus
Bladder
Vagina
uterus
Changes in reproductive organs at
Puberty
1)
Discharge
-keeps vagina clean and healthy
-varies from whitish and pasty to clear and slippery
-if bad odor, may be an infection
2)
Ovulation
-once ovaries start producing hormones, the message
is given to start releasing one ovum, once a month,
from one ovary
-usually a girl cannot feel this happening
-if egg is not fertilized in a day or so, it dissolves
3) Menstruation
-uterus must prepare for growth of a baby
-hormones from ovaries send message to the
uterus to grow a thick lining of tissue and blood
-lining contains nutrients to nourish the egg
and sperm is fertilization occurs
-if the egg is NOT fertilized, the lining is not
needed to nourish the baby…so the uterus
sheds the lining (takes 5-7 days) This is called
MENSTRUATION.
-once it is shed, a new lining begins to grow
-This happens again, that is why it is called a
CYCLE.
?Questions?
1) How does it feel if you fall and get a cut on
your knee?
2) How does it feel if you have a nosebleed?
3) Do you think having a period is more like
cutting your knee or more like a nosebleed?
Why?
4) Why does a girl get a period?
5) What does a girl use to absorb the menstrual
blood?
6) How does a woman decide which type of
menstrual product she will use?
Menstrual Products
Pads
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•
•
•
•
•
Various sizes
Have adhesive strip which sticks to
underwear
Necessary to wear protection 24 hours
a day
Must change frequently, approx. every
3-4 hours
Dispose of in wastebasket (wrap in
toilet paper first)
Scented pads may irritate some
people’s skin
Tampons
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Swimming requires tampons
Menstrual fluid is absorbed within the
vagina
Often not used when period first
begins
Should be changed every 3-4 hours
(TSS-toxic shock syndrome)
Held in place by vagina
String to remove tampon-very strong
Dispose of in wastebasket (wrap in
toilet paper first)
Review Questions
1) List 4 visible changes in girls during
Puberty.
2) What determines breast size?
3) Name 2 external female genitals.
4) Name 2 internal female reproductive
organs.
5) Describe Menstruation.
6) Name 2 menstrual products.