The first menstrual period, called the menarche, can be a very scary and moving time in a young girl's life. A girl's first period signals the end of childhood and the onset of womanhood. The timing of a female's first period varies from person to...
If you have a daughter, one day you must teach her about her menstrual period. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, reports that the average American girl has her first period, or menarche, at about age 12. However, the age...
Birth control is a method of pregnancy prevention that allows a woman to engage in sexual intercourse without risking the chance of becoming pregnant. Birth control is available in several different forms: pills, patches, injections, rings,...
A girl's first menstrual period marks the time in which she becomes a woman---physically and often emotionally as well. Girls usually first start getting their monthly menstrual periods between 9 and 15 years old. This occurrence is natural and...
The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland that sits at the base of the neck, underneath the Adam's apple. The main role of the thyroid is to control the body's metabolism, which includes how fast energy is burned and how fast the heart beats. The...
The first menstrual period, also called menarche, begins at different times for young girls. While no one can precisely predict the exact timing of a first period, there are some biological signs that may indicate when it will likely occur. During...
During a girl's first menstrual period, the bleeding may be irregular or abnormal. This is common, and usually the bleeding lasts for a varying number of days. Although bleeding during the first period is not the textbook "three to seven days," it...
One of the benefits that mothers get from breastfeeding is a delay in the return of menstruation. Mothers who do not breastfeed their babies may get their first postpartum period within weeks, but breastfeeding mothers can usually look forward to...
From infancy to adulthood, a person goes through numerous physical changes. Children who eat a balanced diet and are physically active might develop healthier and stronger bodies. While children develop at different rates, understanding some basic...
Menstruation (a period) is a sign that a girl's body is able to conceive a child. While one girl may be excited at the prospect of becoming a young woman, another may be fearful of her first period and its implication that her childhood is coming...
VBH, or virginal breast hypertrophy, is a rare condition where the breasts grow at an abnormally rapid rate. The condition also goes by a more general term, juvenile macromastia or juvenile gigantomastia. With VBH, the breasts grow to an...
There's more than one way to get pregnant. You can get pregnant by having sex in the traditional way, or you can get pregnant even though you and your partner are in different rooms--or different countries. You can get pregnant even if you don't...
Late childhood is generally defined as ages 9 through 12. Up until this point, most children have been growing at fairly predictable rates. Now, all bets are off due the often wild fluctuations in physical development. One preteen can be in a...
Human chorionic gonadotropin, or hCG, is a hormone involved in pregnancy. Normal adults do not have hCG in their bloodstreams, but pregnant women do. Because hCG helps maintain the physiological changes that support a pregnancy, it causes a...
Overview Puberty in females is a process that varies from girl to girl. There is a wide range of 'normal' starting times, and the onset time varies in different...
Breast development occurs in females during puberty. This development occurs in five stages, called "Tanner stages," named after Dr.Tanner, who first described them. Breast development can occur at varying ages and typically starts one to two...
For the new mother, the question of when fertility will return after childbirth is a common one. While every woman's body is different, the most common determinant of when her period will return is whether she is breastfeeding or not. Spotting may...
Amenorrhea refers to the absence of menstruation in women. Amenorrhea is diagnosed in women who miss at least three consecutive menstrual periods and girls who have not had their first menstrual period by 16 years of age. The causes of amenorrhea...
A girl's weight and race, as well as other genetic factors, can cause early menstrual cycles. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average age of menarche, or first menstrual period, for American girls is 12.6....
According to the medical textbook "Williams Gynecology," uterine fibroids (also called leiomyomas) are benign, estrogen-sensitive tumors that originate from the smooth muscle layer of the uterus (the myometrium). They are often referred to as...
The period of life between childhood and adulthood is adolescence. This period starts with the beginnings of sexual maturity and ends with being an independent adult, according to an article by Russell Viner and Deborah Christie in the Feb. 5,...
One of the most conspicuous physical events in a girl's life is the development of her breasts. During this time, her body undergoes other physical changes, preparing her for childbearing. Girls mature at different rates, and one girl may develop...
Because doctors measure pregnancy from the start of your last menstrual cycle, when you're four weeks pregnant, you may just have missed your first menstrual period. At this point, implantation of the embryo just occurred around one week ago, but...
As if homework, tests, after school activities and constant lectures from adults weren't enough, you also have a vast array of physical changes to deal with in your teen years. Sometimes it seems like changes occur overnight, and you feel a little...
Children's fine and gross motor skills develop as their bodies grow and change. Motor skills involve the brain and nervous system, as well as the muscles. Fine motor skills utilize small muscle groups such as the hands, and control activities such...
Puberty is the time in life in which a person becomes sexually mature. On average, in the United States, girls go through puberty from ages 10 to 14 and boys go through it between ages 12 to 16, though some boys and girls may begin earlier or...
Teens may find their adolescence to be an exciting time as they develop physically, sexually and emotionally. For some, however, the beginning of their adolescence can be a rocky start to this stage of life. As teens develop at varying rates and...
Puberty generally starts earlier for girls than it does for boys, usually between the ages of 9 and 13, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Although it brings some exciting changes, it also can be a time of embarrassment, awkwardness...
This video teaches how to use an ovulation calculator. Learn about obstetrics from a doctor in this video on understanding pregnancy.
Acupuncture is now used to treat high blood pressure and other medical conditions in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Learn how to use acupuncture to lower high blood pressure in this acupuncture video.
How to use a home pregnancy calculator. Learn about obstetrics from a doctor in this video on understanding pregnancy.
How to use a home pregnancy calculator. Learn about obstetrics from a doctor in this video on understanding pregnancy.
