Adapted from: Puberty: Understanding Your Changin

Body. SexualityandU.ca, 2010

The Changing Me. . .
What’s Happening?
 Class Guidelines:
• Giggling is OK
• Respect what others say
• Understand other’s feelings
• Discuss puberty topics responsibly outside the
classroom
• There are no dumb questions
 3 major growth spurts

1. Conception to Birth
3. Puberty
2. Birth to one year old
 What is puberty?
• Time of change from child to adult

• When the body reaches maturity

• Emotional changes occur

• Bodies become fertile

When do I start puberty?
Puberty starts anywhere between the ages of 8-15.

• Everyone is different
• Everyone will start and finish at a different
time
• This is normal
What makes puberty start?
The pituitary gland sends a signal to the body to produce
the hormone that starts puberty.
Does everyone produce
the same hormone?
• If you have ovaries, the pituitary gland sends a
signal to produce Estrogen.

• If you have testicles, the pituitary gland sends a

signal to produce Testosterone.
 How does my body
change during puberty?
 What changes happen
due to testosterone?
• Hair growth (pubic areas, under the armpits, and on
the face)
• May get more hair on arms, legs, chest and back
• Voice gets deeper
• Penis and testicles grow
• Sperm is produced
• May have mood swings, sexual thoughts and feelings
What other changes happen?
• Grow taller
• Bones grow
• Muscles grow
• Weight gain is normal
• Hair and skin become oily and you may get pimples
• Body sweats more
 What changes happen
due to estrogen?
• Hair grows under armpits and in pubic area
• Hair on arms and legs may grow darker
• Breast and nipples get larger
• Body sweats more
• Menstruation (period) begins
• May have mood swings, sexual thoughts and feelings
What other changes happen?
• Grow taller
• Bones grow
• Hips get wider and more curvy
• Weight gain is normal
• Hair and skin become oily and you may get pimples
• Voice gets a little deeper
What does fertile mean?
 Sperm

• After puberty testes make 200,000 - 400,000 sperm cells a day

• Sperm build up in tubes around the testicles
• They travel along some tubes and mix with fluids from glands
Ovum
• Can be referred to
as an egg
These are the cells necessary to make a new human:

Sperm + Egg = Baby

People with a penis
Urethra

Penis

Testes or Testicles

Scrotum
People with a penis
Bladder
Seminal Vesicle

Prostate Gland
Urethra

Penis

Epididymis
Testicle or Testes

Scrotum
What is an erection?
• A penis gets erect when blood rushes to it.
• If semen is going to come out, the penis is likely to
be erect.

What is an ejaculation?
• Muscles push the semen (which contains sperm) into
the urethra and out the penis
• This is called ejaculation
 What causes an erection?
• Erections happen for all kinds of reasons
 When a person with a penis has to go to the
bathroom
 When nervous or anxious
 By touching their penis
 Sometimes for no reason during puberty
 When does ejaculation
happen?
• If a person with a penis wakes up and finds a wet, sticky
spot on his sheets or pajamas - semen came out when
he was sleeping. This is called a “wet dream”.
• If a person with a penis touches or rubs his penis and it
gets erect and semen comes out. This is called
masturbation.
• Some have wet dreams - some don’t.
• Some masturbate, some don’t.
People with a vagina
Fallopian Tube Ovaries

Uterus

Cervix

Vagina
 People with a vagina
Fallopian Tube

Ovary
Uterus

Bladder

Cervix

Clitoris

Urethra Rectum

Vaginal Opening
 What are periods and
why do they happen?
• A person with a vagina is born with hundreds of
thousands of tiny eggs, called ova – one is called an
ovum
• These egg cells are only half formed
• At puberty, hormones tell the ovaries it is time to start
releasing ova
• Usually one egg at a time develops and is released
from an ovary
 What are periods and
why do they happen?
At the same time, the uterus starts to grow a thick lining
on the inside wall
• The lining has lots of tiny blood vessels
• The lining is there to protect and feed an egg that
has combined with a sperm (a fertilized egg)
 What are periods and
why do they happen?
If an egg does not meet a sperm
• The lining breaks up
• It mixes with some blood and comes out the uterus
into the vagina and then out the vaginal opening
• This is called menstruation or a period.
 What is a menstrual cycle?
The menstrual cycle is the process just described:

• Formation of the uterine lining,

• Release of the egg,
• Breakdown of the unfertilized egg and uterine
lining,
• Release of the lining (start of the cycle)
When will I get my period?
• No one can tell exactly when it will start
• Many get some white or yellow stuff on their underwear
• It is called mucus and is a sign that the period is coming
sometime within the next year

How long will the bleeding last?

• Each female is different. It can vary from 3 – 8 days
• During a period only a few tablespoons to about half a cup
of blood is lost – not a lot
 How often will I get a period?
• At first there may not be any pattern to
when you will get your next period
• Some people never have a regular pattern
• Most people eventually have a regular cycle
– they know approximately when their next
period will happen
• The length of a cycle is from the first day of Keep a calendar to help keep track of
bleeding to the first day of bleeding the when you have your period and how
next time it happens long it lasts.

• Each person is different so some may have

a period every 23 days, some every 28 days
and some every 35 days
 What do I do when I get my
period?
• Pads or tampons are used to catch the blood that comes from
the vagina
• Sanitary pads are made of material that absorbs the blood
• Most have a sticky strip on one side to hold the pad to the
underwear
• Pads come in a variety of sizes and shapes
 What do I do when I get my
period?
• A tampon is a small plug of material that fits inside the
vagina to absorb the blood
• Some people like to use tampons, especially if they are
doing physical activities
 What about feelings?
Everyone experience many different feelings or emotions
as they grow up.

What are some of the feelings?

What about feelings?
Everyone can experience lots of
feelings as they grow up
 Where can I get more
information?
• Parents or other family members
• Other trusted adults (teachers)
• Health professionals
Questions?