Girls are Also Going through Puberty

The girls you have as friends who are your age are also experiencing puberty. Their bodies are going through many changes, too. The girls grow hair on their bodies, have emotional changes, and develop breasts during puberty.

One thing girls begin to experience is periods. Girls take care of their periods by wearing sanitary pads or putting tampons in their vaginas. Girls experience periods because they can have babies, unlike boys, who produce sperm in their testicles.

Periods, also called menstruation, happen when blood and a girl's egg leave the girl's body through her vagina if a sperm cell has not reached her egg through sex. It begins when an egg moves from one of two ovaries, through one of the girl's two fallopian tubes, to her uterus. Before the egg reaches the uterus, her uterus grows a layer of blood and some flesh. If the girl has had sex and a sperm cell has reached her egg, she will become pregnant and have a baby. The baby forms in her uterus. If a sperm cell has not reached her egg, she will have her period, and the blood and egg leave through her vagina. Then, the process happens again and again about once a month. You can't tell if a girl is on her period by looking at her. Don't tease a girl about her period or body.

Girls experience emotional changes and can, at times, have much greater feelings than boys. She can have worse mood swings about 7 days before her period, called Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS). Girls can feel down during this time.

Boys gain more muscle during puberty, and girls gain more body fat.

Don't tease girls about their periods, breasts, or other things about their bodies. It's imperative (important, essential) to be kind and caring toward girls. If you see a girl being teased, be a responsible young gentleman and stick up for her. She will probably be very grateful and happy for your understanding and support. Remember: girls go through puberty much like boys.

Girls have what is called a hymen in their vaginas. The hymen can be broken by a girl exercising or playing sports rigorously, wearing a tampon or menstrual cup, or when she loses her virginity by having sexual intercourse. When this happens, some blood may come out of her vagina.

Girls can get pregnant if the male she is having sex with pulls his penis out before orgasm, because males can ejaculate some semen before reaching orgasm.

She can also get pregnant if it's her first time having sex, or if the male didn't reach orgasm at all. It is also possible for a girl to get pregnant if the male uses a condom, as sometimes condoms break or have holes in them.

A boy should never keep a condom in his wallet because the condom can get a hole or holes in it. Only use a condom once and check the expiration date on the wrapper.

There are also other forms of birth control, such as the cervical cap, a diaphragm, birth control pills, the patch, an internal condom, or an implant.