Girls – my body

My body

Girls go through puberty usually between the ages of 9 and 16. Different people develop at different times and so the speed these changes happen varies from person to person. Here are some of the changes that may happen during puberty:

• Your body shape grows more rounded/curvy and you grow taller
• Your breasts and nipples start to swell and fill out
• Hair starts to grow under your arms, on your legs and around your vagina
• You start to sweat under your arms and between your legs
• You might get spots
• Your period starts
• You may get a slight clear or milky discharge from your vagina.

All of these things are perfectly normal.

Periods

At some point during puberty a girl will start her periods also known as menstruation. What happens is the body releases an egg (known as ovulation). The egg is then shed through the vagina along with the lining of the womb (unless it is fertilised by a sperm) which is what you see when you have your period. 

Periods last on average between 2 – 7 days. Some people have heavy periods with lots of blood and others have light periods. You may also notice the period blood is different at the start to the finish – all of which is normal. Also some people have stomach cramps/pains, backache, leg ache or feel sick during their period. If your periods are uncomfortable try taking a pain killer such as paracetamol or aspirin before the pain gets too bad. A hot water bottle or warm bath often helps too. 

Most women get a period about once a month. Keeping a note of when your periods start and finish every month is a good way of getting to know your cycle. In this way you will know when your period is due and you can be ready with sanitary towels/tampons. 

If you’ve had sex without using contraception there’s a chance that you could be pregnant. Although most women don’t get periods when they are pregnant some do or the periods might become lighter. So if you have had unprotected sex you might need to take emergency contraception or get a pregnancy test.

Vaginas and breasts

Every woman looks different and so does every vagina. But as far as the basics go every woman’s vagina has two sets of lips – an inner and an outer set known as the labia. The outer ones are the ones that become covered in pubic hair and the inner ones rest just inside these and don’t have any public hair.

The labia come in different shapes and sizes. Some women have larger inner lips that hang below the outer lips and look quite fleshy. Whereas some women have small inner lips that you can’t easily see. Both are perfectly normal.

At the front of the labia is the clitoris – this looks like a small pea shaped bump with a hood of skin covering it. This is packed full of nerves which can make it extremely sensitive to touch. The purpose of the clitoris is to provide sexual pleasure. If you sit with a hand held mirror you can look at your vagina and try to identify the parts we’ve just described.

Like vaginas, breasts too come in all shapes and sizes. We’re all exposed to images of so called perfect breasts or boobs (whatever you call them) in magazines, on the TV and in the papers.  But natural boobs don’t tend to look like these. They can be small, big or in between, they can hang low, one can be smaller or bigger than the other, they can have big nipples, small nipples, dark nipples or light ones. We are all different and unique. The important thing is not to feel low about how your body looks but to be confident about yourself. It’s a good idea to check your breasts regularly for any unusual lumps or bumps – to find out how and why visit the NHS Website.