ADOLESCENCE

Adolescence is one of the most important stages of life. It is the time between childhood and adulthood. Something called puberty marks the beginning of adolescence, for puberty is the time when a person's reproductive organs begin the process of becoming mature and functional. The brain is the organ that starts the whole process of puberty. At the base of the brain is a center called the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus sends signals to the pituitary gland which in turn releases hormones into the bloodstream. These hormones (special chemical substances) travel to an individual's "sex glands" or "reproductive organs" which are called gonads.

There are two kinds of gonads: ovaries which are found in the female body and testicles which are found in the male body. (NOTE: Each of these sex glands or organs are discussed in the section entitled PREGNANCY.)

It is very important to understand that the changes which occur during adolescence as a result of puberty, take place at different times for each individual. Some people begin experiencing certain physical changes earlier than others, but all teenagers change at some point in their lives. Some may wish they were changing or growing faster than they are, but there is usually no need to worry. Eventually everyone grows up.

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YOUNG MAN'S BODY

So what kinds of changes do males experience during this important time in their lives - this stage called adolescence? It all begins with the male hormone, testosterone.

At puberty, testosterone starts being produced by the testicles, and when this takes place, the journey to sexual maturity begins. Some of the first changes are as follows: clothes begin fitting tighter; arms and legs grow rapidly; muscles become heavier and stronger; and sex organs (penis and testicles) grow. This hormone can also cause some rather unusual and perhaps embarrassing things to happen. Sometimes young men have what are called nocturnal emissions or "wet dreams". These are times when seminal fluid - a liquid which contains sperm cells - is released from the penis when the individual is sleeping. This is a natural way for the male body to get rid of excessive seminal fluid.

Testosterone also causes hair to grow on the young man's face, chest, legs, under his arms, and around his pubic region - the area where his external sex organs are located. The adolescent males vocal cords begin to change, so his voice may "crack" as the pitch begins to lower. They may begin having some skin problems due to an increase of oil in the pores of their skin. Again these changes may be a little embarrassing and frustrating.

It is important to again emphasize the fact that every male goes through these physical changes during his adolescent years. These changes do not determine how masculine or "manly" someone is. What matters most is not how physically mature someone is, but how mentally and emotionally mature he is as he moves from childhood to becoming a young adult. True maturity is far more than experiencing various physical changes. Mature individuals are caring, considerate, well-behaved people who treat others with respect. Therefore, how one behaves toward others is what really matters not how one looks physically. The two should never be confused.

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YOUNG WOMAN'S BODY

The female body, much like the male body, experiences a variety of changes during adolescence as a result of puberty. Puberty in a young woman's body is the time when her reproductive organs, ovaries, begin producing increased amounts of a hormone called estrogen, and estrogen is the special chemical substance that causes the changes to occur. Usually the first change that takes place will be in the female's breasts. They begin to get larger so that some day she will be able to breastfeed a newborn baby. The young woman's hips begin to get broader, and she will also begin to grow taller. Hair will begin to grow under her arms, around her sex organs (pubic region). Her voice may deepen much like a male's does, and she may start having some skin problems due to the increase of oil in the pores of her skin, especially on her face.

Why do these changes take place? It is because the young women are becoming physically capable of becoming mothers. This is what is meant by the term fertility - being physically capable of having children. (More information about fertility and human reproduction can be found in the section entitled, PREGNANCY.) However, it is important to take a moment to briefly discuss what takes place in the female body so pregnancy can occur.

As was noted earlier, the female sex organs are called ovaries. Each woman has two ovaries, one on each side of the uterus - the hollow organ where a baby develops during a pregnancy. Approximately once a month, one of the ovaries releases an ovum or egg. If a sperm cell from a male joins together (unites) with an egg in the female body, fertilization is said to occur and thus pregnancy begins. Most medical scientists and doctors agree that at the moment of fertilization, a genetically unique individual's life has begun, and if all goes well, that life will continue to grow for approximately nine months until birth.

After the fertilization of an egg occurs, something very spectacular happens in the pregnant woman's body. A special lining develops along the inside wall of the uterus so that when the fertilized egg (zygote) enters the uterus, it will have a place to grow and develop. If everything goes the way it should, the fertilized egg will "implant" in the lining of the uterus which is called the endometrium.

However most eggs are not fertilized. When fertilization does not take place, the unfertilized egg cell simply dies and is absorbed into the female body like any other dead cell. Within a couple of weeks, the lining of the uterus (endometrium) does not need to remain inside the woman's body, so it passes out of her body through the vagina - the canal which connects the uterus with the vulva (the external genital organs of the female). This process is called menstruation or a "period". Menstruation usually lasts about three to seven days. It is estimated that menstruation normally begins around 12 to 16 days after ovulation which is the time when an egg is released from an ovary. The fluid released from the uterus (menstrual fluid or "period" substance) is a combination of blood and tissue that is no longer needed because there is no pregnancy.

Ovulation and menstruation are normal, natural functions in a woman's body, and they will continue from puberty until she is no longer capable of having children. This time in her life is called menopause. It occurs when the woman's body no longer manufactures enough estrogen to cause the release of eggs from her ovaries and menstruation to take place. Yet until menopause occurs, a woman's "periods" can be rather uncomfortable. They may experience cramping, weakness, fatigue, or even nausea and headaches. Some women become more irritable or "cranky" during their "periods". It's like they feel sick even though they really aren't. Menstruation is not a laughing matter especially when a woman is experiencing pain or discomfort during this time. Some women experience serious discomfort before and during their "periods". This condition is called premenstrual syndrome or PMS.

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CONCLUSION CONCERNING ADOLESCENT CHANGES

In conclusion, it is again important to remember that even though everyone's body eventually goes through certain changes during adolescence, these changes happen at different times for different individuals. Each person has a different "internal timetable" which determines when these changes will occur. Some individuals may get frustrated or even worried because things are not happening the way they think or hoped they would. Perhaps the advice of a noted psychologist, who has spent a great deal of time working with teenagers, may be helpful:

Your road to adulthood not only passes over the canyon of inferiority [a place in your life where you wish you were different than you are], but it also crosses the shaky bridge of late maturity. What I'm talking about is the anxious feelings that occur when a person doesn't grow up as quickly as he expected, or as soon as his friends develop. These changes of puberty that I've been describing may occur as early as nine or ten years of age or as late as seventeen or eighteen, but each boy and girl has his or her own timetable. Again, the age of development is supervised by the pituitary gland in the brain, which has everything under control. However, these individual timetables cause a lot of unnecessary worry among those who are either ahead of their friends or behind them. The age of puberty can become a source of great worry and concern.

For example, let's suppose you're a thirteen-year-old girl whose body has not yet begun to change. You still look like Little Red Riding Hood. None of your adult features have begun to show up. As you look around at the other girls in your class, you notice that some of them already look like women. They're wearing bras, but you clearly don't need one.

Then you start worrying about what's occurring inside. "Is there something wrong with me? Why haven't these things happened to me yet?" Then you turn fourteen, and still nothing changes. Your body is just sitting there yawning at you, and you're really getting concerned. You lay awake at night wondering if you'll still look like a child when you're fifty years old. Your girlfriends are talking to each other about menstruation, but you can't share in the conversation because you know nothing about it. You feel different and odd, and you worry until you're almost sick with anxiety.

Or suppose you're a fifteen-year-old boy who has the same problem. You aren't nearly as strong as your friends, and since you haven't had your growth spurt, you're one of the shortest boys in your class. In fact, you're even shorter than most of the girls, because girls start their puberty growth before boys. The other boys are starting to shave, but you don't even have peach fuzz on your face. You pick up the telephone to talk to the operator, but your voice is so high that she thinks you're a girl. She says, "Yes, Ma'am." That may be the worst insult that's ever been thrown at you!

But the most painful thing of all is that the other guys have noticed that [physically] you're still a little boy, and they've begun to tease you. When you're in the locker room, they call you nicknames and make fun of the fact that you don't have pubic hair or that you're still short and scrawny.

What are you going to do if this happens in the next few years? Are you going to crack up? Will you grind your teeth and bite your nails and chew your tongue? I hope that won't be necessary in your life.

Let me make a suggestion for those of you who grow up a little later than your friends. The main thing to remember is that there's nothing wrong with you. It's just as healthy to grow up later as earlier, and there's no reason to fear that you will never mature. Just hold steady for a year or two, and then the fireworks will all begin to pop for you, just as for everybody else! I can promise you that this is going to happen. If you don't believe me, take a look at all the adults around you. Do you see any of them that look like children? Of course not. Everyone grows up sooner or later.

Certainly it's never much fun to be laughed at by your friends, but if you know you'll be different for only a short time, maybe you can stand it. Most importantly, don't you be guilty of making another person feel bad about himself if you happen to grow before he does! (Dr. James Dobson, PREPARING FOR ADOLESCENCE, pp. 77-79.)

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A WORD ON PERSONAL SAFETY

As everyone knows, there are all kinds of people in this world. Most of them can be trusted, but some of them cannot be. Some people get their thrills from teasing or picking on children or young teenagers.

There is a basic rule to remember: Everyone has a right to body privacy. Each person's body belongs to himself or herself, and no one should be allowed to do something without permission. No one has a right to expose, touch, or "play with" the private parts of someone else's body. No one! If someone asks or tries to touch a private part of someone's body (an area covered by the underwear or swim suits, i.e, sexual parts), the person needs to make it clear that this is not acceptable! If this happens, the person who has been improperly touched should tell an adult he or she completely trusts, for this kind of touching is against the law! (See the section on SEX AND THE LAW.)

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INTRODUCTION

The menstrual cycle is an amazing series of events that occur in all normal, healthy women during their reproductive years. The primary purpose of a menstrual cycle is to make it possible for a woman to become pregnant so the human race will continue.

The following information is a scientific explanation of what occurs during a menstrual cycle. Hopefully, it will help you better understand what these cycles are all about. However, if you have any personal problems or concerns regarding your body and particularly your menstrual cycles or "periods", you should contact a trained medical professional like a doctor or nurse.

MENSTRUAL CYCLES

A woman's menstrual cycle is controlled by the hypothalamus (which is part of the brain) and the pituitary gland. These two parts of the body control the release of two female hormones, estrogen and progesterone. These hormones determine the physical development of the female body as well as the menstrual cycle.

The menstrual cycle involves three phases: follicle development, ovulation, and menstruation ("period").

Follicle development - The ultimate purpose of this phase is to develop one follicle and one egg (ovum) which eventually will be released from one of the woman's ovaries. The pituitary gland in the brain signals the release of the follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) into the bloodstream. The FSH causes eggs (ova) to begin maturing in a number of follicles (tiny cyst-like sacs) in the ovaries. As the follicles are developing, the FSH increases the secretion of estrogen in the bloodstream which goes to work on the inner lining of the uterus (endometrium) causing it to gradually thicken. As the estrogen increases, the mucous-producing glands in the cervix cause the cervical mucous to become thinner which makes it easier for sperm to travel through it into the uterus and eventually into the fallopians tubes. The rising levels of estrogen in the bloodstream signal the pituitary gland to decrease the production of FSH. When estrogen has reached its peak level, the hypothalamus triggers the release of luteinizing hormone (LH) from the pituitary gland. LH acts on the ovary, which is finishing the final development of one follicle. LH is primarily responsible for the rupturing of the mature egg through the outer wall of one ovary (ovulation). After the egg has left the ovary, the follicle remains as a tiny mass of cells called the corpus luteum.

Ovulation - As the luteinizing hormone (which is described above) stimulates the corpus luteum, the corpus luteum begins secreting another essential hormone, progesterone, along with more estrogen. Eventually the luteinizing hormone (LH) will cause a mature egg to rupture the tiny sac (follicle) it has developed in, and that mature egg bursts forth from an ovary in the direction of a fallopian tube. This process - the release of an egg from an ovary - is called ovulation. Ovulation usually occurs once near the middle of each menstrual cycle.

Menstruation ("Period") - If a mature egg is released and enters the nearby fallopian tube, that egg may join with a sperm cell. If a sperm and egg unite, fertilization occurs, and a genetically unique individual begins developing. In preparation for the arrival of a fertilized egg, the lining of the uterus is thickening, and the blood supply to the tissues increases. If a fertilized egg reaches the lining (endometrium), it implants itself there, divides and grows, and, if all goes well, approximately nine months later a child will be born.

However, if the egg is not fertilized within 24 hours it will die, and pregnancy will not happen during that particular menstrual cycle. Some time after the egg dies - usually one or two weeks later - the lining of the uterus begins to break down. When this occurs, the extra blood and dead tissue from the inside lining of the uterus begin to pass out of the uterus and through the vagina. The process is called menstruation or a "period".

Why does menstruation take place? The purpose of the blood and tissue inside the uterus is to provide oxygen and nutrients to keep a fertilized egg alive until an umbilical cord develops to support the developing fetus (unborn child). If there is no fertilized egg, then the woman's body "decides" to get rid of the "period substance" (menstrual fluid), so menstruation occurs, or, as most people say, the woman has started her "period". The first day of a woman's "period" marks the beginning of a new menstrual cycle, and normally a "period" lasts from three to seven days. The average menstrual cycle is twenty-eight days, but since 95% of all women's cycles are from twenty-one to forty-five days, women who are within this range can consider their menstrual cycles to be normal.

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FERTILIZATION

As mentioned above, after ovulation occurs, if a sperm cell from a male unites with an egg cell within 24 hours, ƒertilization is said to have occurred. Twenty-three chromosomes from the male reproductive cell (sperm) and twenty-three chromosomes from the female reproductive cell (egg) join together to create a genetically unique individual made up of forty-six chromosomes - the exact number of chromosomes required for human life. Simply put, fertilization marks the beginning of a pregnancy, and most medical scientists and doctors would also say that fertilization marks the beginning of human life.

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