Yesterday we learned about the built and function of the male and female reproductive organs.
Today we will continue to look at information regarding the female reproductive organ.
A baby girl is born with thousand of egg cells in her ovaries. These egg cells will not be released until puberty is reached. Every month the body will prepare itself for fertilization and the walls of the uterus will become thicker. If fertilization does not take place (which means you are not pregnant) the body will get rid off the wall from the uterus through a process called 'menstruation'.
- While male sex cell fertilizes the egg cell?
- What is puberty?
- What is fertilization?
- Why do you think only a girl can get pregnant and not a boy?
Menstruation
The menstrual cycle is about 28 days, but it can be longer or shorter. If you are young and have just started your menstruation, it can be irregular.
Once a women gets pregnant her menstruation stops for the duration of the pregnancy.
The cycle starts on day 1 when there is bleeding from the vagina. As we said before, that is the bodies way of getting rid of the lining when you are not pregnant. This is called menstruation or 'getting your periods'. Not all girl get their periods at the same age. Depending on your puberty some girls will start getting it at a very young age like 8 or 9 and some will only get it between 13 or 15 years of age.
Your period can last for 3-5 days and by the end of it the bleeding will stop and the new egg cell will start growing to maturity to be released from the ovaries.
By day 14 the new egg cell is released, which means fertilization can now take place again. This release of an egg cell is called 'ovulation'.
If fertilization does not take place, the lining of the uterus will start breaking up and the whole cycle start again from day 1.
Women will get their periods up to a certain age (depending on their hormones) and then they will stop getting it, which means their bodies are not releasing any egg cells any more and do not get itself ready for pregnancy.
- Watch the video and compile a few of your own question on it. You do not have to study this work, it is just for enrichment.
In your previous work you learned that a male and a female produces different sex cells.
- What is the name of the male and the female sex cells that if formed and released?
If a sperm cell meets up with an egg cell - yes, it only takes one sperm cell to fertilize the egg cell. After fertilization, the fertilized egg cell will move down to the uterus where it will start dividing to become a fetus and then a baby.
Each of the sex cells contains different 'genes' from the mom and the dad which will combine to form a new human being - that is why you have certain traits of your mom and some of your dad.
So children look like combinations of their parents because they are. Each parent gives half of their genetic material to their children. The combination makes a unique combination of their parents genes. The scientific study of how traits are passed from parents to children is called genetics.
If you are interested to learn more about 'genetics' you can read extra information on https://www.ducksters.com/science/biology/genetics.php
Watch the video on fertilization and answer the questions that follow.
- How is a new human life form (name the process)
- What happens to a lot of the sperm once they are in the vagina?
- Why is the cervix open for a few days?
Please note, you do not have to know all the big words they use in the video, you just need to know how fertilization takes place.
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