FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM
The female reproductive system is uniquely designed in such a way that it can do its part in this process known as human reproduction. There are two almond-shaped sex organs in the female body called ovaries. There is one ovary on each side of the uterus which is the hollow organ which houses any developing fetus or unborn child prior to birth. (NOTE: Only three weeks after a girl has begun to develop inside her mother's uterus, she already has approximately 100 eggs in her ovaries, and a four and one-half month old female unborn child has millions of eggs in her ovaries. At birth, she will have just over one million, yet when she reaches puberty, the number of eggs decreases to around 400,000. Only about 400 of these eggs will ever be released from her ovaries usually one at a time per menstrual cycle.)
As a result of the changes brought about by puberty, every young woman eventually starts having menstrual cycles. The average length of a menstrual cycle is 28 days. However, young women, especially teenagers, may have very "irregular" cycles. Some may last two or three weeks, while others' may last several months. There is no reason for a teenage girl to be concerned if her cycles are not regular. The older she gets, the more consistent her menstrual cycles will be.
During these cycles, each female experiences what is called menstruation or a "period". "Periods" usually last from three to seven days, and mark the beginning of a particular menstrual cycle. The purpose of a "period" is to get rid of the bloody tissue that has accumulated inside her uterus during the course of her menstrual cycle. If the woman happens to be pregnant, she will not have a "period" because the substance that is normally released during her "period" stays inside the uterus to keep the developing unborn child alive. If the woman does not get pregnant, there is no need for this substance to remain in her uterus. Therefore, it passes out of the uterus through the opening of the vagina, and a woman is said to be "on her period".
Ovulation is the process by which a mature egg or ovum is released from one of the ovaries. Each female has two ovaries, one on each side of her uterus. Normally one egg is released at a time from one of her ovaries during each menstrual cycle. Then during the next cycle, an egg will be released from the ovary located on the opposite side of her uterus. Generally ovulation occurs somewhere in the middle of a woman's cycle. However, because a woman cannot tell when she is about to ovulate, she cannot know for certain when it will take place. That is why there is no 100% safe time to engage in sex and be sure a pregnancy will not occur. (NOTE: A commonly asked question concerning "periods" and pregnancy is, "Can a woman get pregnant when she is on her period?" While it is very unlikely, no one can say it is impossible for a woman to get pregnant while she is on her "period". The only 100% guarantee a woman has that she will not get pregnant is to not have sex.)
After ovulation occurs, the egg is "picked up" by one of the fallopian tubes. There is a fallopian tube on each side of the uterus. It is open near each ovary so it can receive a mature egg soon after it is released from an ovary. The other end of the tube is connected to the uterus. As a newly released egg cell travels down the fallopian tube, it might join (unite) with a sperm cell which has been released from a male body during sexual intercourse (the physical joining together of a male and female body). The union of a sperm cell with an egg cell is called fertilization. Another word for the fertilization of an egg is conception. Fertilization marks the beginning of a pregnancy, and if all goes well, the fertilized egg (which is called an embryo until the eighth week and a fetus from that time on until it is born) will eventually make its way down the fallopian tube to the uterus and implant in the lining of the uterus (endometrium) where it will develop for the remainder of the pregnancy.
What controls all of these events in the female reproductive system? There are two hormones (special chemical substances) which regulate these activities. They are called estrogen and progesterone. Estrogen is primarily responsible for the changes brought about by puberty, while progesterone has more to do with pregnancy and the development of a fetus. Both of these hormones cause the lining of the uterus, the endometrium, to thicken during the menstrual cycle. If pregnancy occurs, the production of progesterone continues at a high level to help sustain the health of the fetus. However, if there is no pregnancy (an egg is not fertilized by a sperm cell), then the levels of both progesterone and estrogen drop dramatically, and the lining of the uterus sloughs off and is released from the female body in what is called menstruation ("period").
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MALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM
Even though females are the ones who become pregnant, the male reproductive system obviously has an important role in human reproduction.
Males have two sex glands or organs called testicles. They are located in a sac or bag (scrotum) which hangs behind and below the penis. The scrotum helps the testicles to maintain the right body temperature necessary to produce the male sex cells which are called sperm. Sperm cells are collected and stored in a thin, tightly coiled tube about 20 feet long on the outer side of each testicle. This storage place is known as the epididymis. When the male is sexually aroused, anywhere from three hundred million to nearly one billion sperm cells may be released at a time. (NOTE: At birth, the male infant has millions of "primitive" cells which remain dormant until puberty. At puberty, those primitive sperm cells give rise to more at a rate of 300 million per day! (Landrum Shettles, M.D., RITES OF LIFE, pp. 31-32.)
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HOW THE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS WORK
What then is the primary function of the male and female reproductive organs? Together they serve to contribute to the creation of new human life. In order for a new life to come into being, a man and a woman must "come together" or be united in the most intimate physical union possible. This special union is called sexual intercourse or "sex" for short.
Sexual intercourse is a very private, personal, intimate way for a couple to show their affection and love for one another. During sexual intercourse, sperm cells from the man are released into the woman's vagina which is the curved canal extending from the vulva (the external genital organs of a female) to the opening of the uterus which is called the cervix. The fluid which contains the sperm cells is called semen or seminal fluid. This fluid travels through a series of tubes inside the man's body before leaving it. The release of the seminal fluid is known as ejaculation.
At the time of ejaculation, the seminal fluid, which may contain nearly one billion sperm cells, comes out of the penis (the male organ used in sexual intercourse) into the woman's vagina. Eventually some of the sperm cells will pass through the uterus and into the fallopian tubes. The sperm cells have tiny tails which help them to "swim" inside the fallopian tubes in search of an egg to fertilize. If an egg has been released (ovulation) from one of the woman's ovaries, then one of the sperm cells might join with that egg. If this takes place, fertilization occurs, and pregnancy begins.
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TRUE SEXUAL MATURITY
Even if a person has a good understanding of how all of this works, it is important to realize the seriousness of this experience called sex. Sex is far more than simply the physical joining together of a male and a female. It is an experience that not only affects both of them physically, but emotionally, mentally, socially, morally, and perhaps spiritually. Once someone has had sex with another person, their relationship will always be different. There is an unusual bond that is established between two people who have been sexually intimate, and when there is no lifelong, loving commitment both stand to suffer in one way or another.
Therefore, if this thing called sex is to be all that it is supposed to be, it should only take place between two people who are deeply committed to one another in a lasting kind of relationship. We call this kind of relationship marriage. Just because a young man and a young woman are attracted to each other, feel they are "in love" with one another, and are physically capable of having sex, this doesn't mean that they should. Generally speaking, teens are not ready emotionally, and mentally to handle the responsibilities and obligations sex demands. Most of them are not ready to get married or become parents either. They have a lot of growing up to do. Perhaps they have a lot of dreams and plans they hope to accomplish before taking on the responsibilities of marriage, let alone parenthood!
Mature, responsible teenagers who truly want to do what is best for themselves and others, should choose to wait to have sex until they are married. Choosing to wait to have sex until marriage is known as abstinence. At a time when young people are getting pregnant at a rate of over one million each year, contracting all kinds of sexually transmitted diseases (STDS), and even dying of AIDS, choosing to wait until they are married before becoming sexually active is clearly the healthiest decision any of them could make.
Being a mature, responsible young man or woman means looking at all the possible consequences of one's actions, and then doing what he or she believes is in the best interest of everyone involved: oneself, a girlfriend or boyfriend, their parents, their friends, and perhaps a baby who might be conceived because teen or young adult did not make the right decision about having sex prior to marriage.
True sexual maturity is far more than simply being physically capable of having sex and possibly taking part in the creation of a new life. True sexual maturity means making healthy, responsible decisions about sex, so there will be no regrets in the future. In conclusion, a person with a mature attitude toward sex realizes that:
1. Sexual intercourse is to be a unique expression of love and affection between two people, rather than a physical expression of lust and attraction.
2. Sexual intercourse is meant to be reserved for married couples who have publicly declared their love for one another and pledged their faithfulness "until death".
3. Choosing not to have "sex" before marriage is the healthiest, most responsible choice anyone can make, for it is a choice which exhibits self-control, and it will never lead to any regrets.
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