Your Body - Your Mind > Changes in Your Body - Female

During adolescence, your body is going through many changes that are
happening at a fast pace. While these changes might make you feel unsure of
yourself at times, they can also be exciting. You are becoming a young woman!
Learning about what is going on with your body will help you get through these
changes

This time in your life when your body is changing is called puberty. For girls,
puberty usually starts between the ages of 9 and 16. Sometimes, it can start as
early as 6 or 7. Puberty for boys usually starts between the ages of 13 and 15,
but may start as early as age 9. For both girls and boys, puberty takes several
years. Major body changes have taken place for most girls –– but not all –– by
the time they are 14. For boys, these changes happen at age 15 or 16. The first
sign of puberty for most girls is growing breasts. Other changes include new body
hair, different body shape, and getting your period. The changes in your
hormones that cause you to get your period make you able to get pregnant and
have a baby.

The Reproductive System

Your reproductive system: On the inside

The ovaries are two small glands next to the uterus. The uterus (or womb) is like
an inside pocket where a baby grows. Ovaries begin to make more estrogen and
other hormones during puberty. This sparks the start of your menstrual cycle,
which includes your period and hormonal changes that take place over about one
month. The ovaries release or let go of one egg (ovum) about once a month,from
the one million or so eggs it has been storing before you were born. This is called
ovulation. The egg moves along a fallopian tube, which connects the ovary to the
uterus. It takes around 3 or 4 days for the egg to get to the uterus. During this
time, the lining of the uterus (called the endometrium) becomes thicker with blood
and fluid to make itself a better home for a baby. You will get pregnant if you
have sex with a male, and his sperm fertilizes or joins the egg on its way to your
uterus. Barrier birth control methods such as condoms can prevent sperm from
passing during sexual intercourse, but these do not work 100% of the time. A
fertilized egg attaches itself to the lining of the uterus to begin growing into
baby. If the egg doesn’t become fertilized, it will be shed along with the lining of
your endometrium during your next period.

The vagina, which is made of muscle, is a hollow canal or tube that can grow
wider to deliver a baby that has finished growing inside the uterus. The opening of
the vagina is covered by the hymen, which is a thin piece of tissue that has one
or more holes in it. Sometimes a hymen is stretched or torn when you use a
tampon or after a first sexual experience, but this does not always happen;
sometimes the hymen stays the same. If it does tear, it may bleed a little bit. The
cervix is the narrow entryway in between the vagina and uterus. The opening of
the cervix is very small, so a tampon will not slip through here and get lost. At the same time, the muscles of the cervix are flexible so that it can expand to let a
baby pass through when he or she is being born.

Your reproductive system: On the outside

The entrance to the vagina is covered, on the outside of the body, by the vulva.
The vulva has five parts: Mons pubis, labia, clitoris, urinary opening and vaginal
opening.

The mons pubis is the mound of tissue and skin just below your stomach. This
area becomes covered with hair when you go through puberty. The labia are the
two sets of skin folds (often called lips) on either side of the opening of the
vagina. The labia majora are the outer lips and the labia minora are the inner
lips. The labia minora cover a small sensitive bump called the clitoris, which is at
the bottom of the mons pubis. Below the clitoris is the urinary opening, which is
where your urine leaves the body. Below the urinary opening is the
vaginalopening, which is the entry into the vagina. This whole area is called the
pelvic area

Visit your doctor for a pelvic and breast exam

Now that your body is different, you can get care from a doctor who focuses on
women’s reproductive health. This kind of doctor is called a gynecologist (say:
gine-eh-kol-uh-jist). You should see a gynecologist if you are sexually active, are
18 or older, or have symptoms of PID (pelvic inflammatory disease). PID is a
general term for infection of the lining of the uterus, fallopian tubes, or the
ovaries. Most cases of PID are caused by bacteria that cause STDs such as
chlamydia and gonorrhea. The most common symptoms of PID include abnormal
vaginal discharge (fluid), lower stomach pain, and sometimes fever. You should
see a doctor if you are in pain or have discharge that is yellow, gray or green
with a strong smell. In between periods, it is normal to have a clear or whitish
fluid or discharge coming from your vagina.

Your doctor should also check your breasts to make sure you don’t have strange
lumps or pain. Although it is common for young women to have some lumpiness
in their breasts, you should still check with your doctor to see what’s normal or
not normal.

It doesn’t sound fun to have a pelvic exam or breast exam, but it is important
that a doctor check out your vagina and other parts on a regular basis. Your
doctor will talk to you about how to recognize the signs of vaginal infections, as
well as how to protect yourself from sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

It is also important to see a doctor if you are having problems with your periods.


Source: 4girls.gov

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