THE MENSTRUAL PERIOD
As we’ve explained, a girl’s first ovum isn’t fertilized by a sperm. It doesn’t plant itself in the uterine lining; instead, it simply disintegrates. Because the ovum hasn’t been fertilized, there’s no longer any need for the thick lining that has grown on the inside walls of the uterus, so the uterus begins to shed the lining. The tissues of the bloody lining begin to break down and turn very liquidy. The bloody and liquidy tissue collect at the bottom of the uterus. They dribble out of the opening in the bottom of the uterus that leads to the vagina. Then the blood and liquid flow down the vaginal walls and dribble out of the vaginal opening.
When a girl begins bleeding from her vaginal opening, we say she is menstruating or having her menstrual period. A girl generally has her first menstrual period between the ages of 9 and 16. The average age is about 13. It takes about three to seven days for the uterus to shed the lining completely. Altogether, about half a cup of blood comes out of the girl’s vagina during her menstrual period. While she’s bleeding like this, a girl usually wears a pad of cottonwool, called a sanitary pad or towel, inside her underpants to catch the blood. Or she may insert a cottonwool plug, called a tampon, into her vagina to absorb the blood. She changes this pad or tampon several times a day.
*62\95\2*
Leave a reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.