Understanding Our Bodies
Every woman
changes from a
girl into a woman...
Puberty
...and then from
a woman into an
older woman.
Reproductive
years
Menopause
43
In many ways, a woman’s body
is no different from a man’s. For
example, women and men both
have hearts, kidneys, lungs, and
other parts that are the same. But
one way they are very different is
hip bones
You can feel your hip bones just
below your waist. They are part
of the pelvis. The pelvic area is
everything between the hips.
This is where a woman’s
reproductive parts are.
in their sexual or reproductive parts.
These are the parts that allow a
man and a woman to make a baby.
Many of women’s health problems
affect these parts of the body.
➤ No one should
Sometimes talking about the sexual parts of our bodies
feel ashamed of
can be difficult, especially if you are shy, or do not know what
any part of his or
different parts of the body are called. In many places, the
her body.
reproductive parts of the body are considered ‘private’.
But knowing how our bodies work means we can take
better care of them. We can recognize problems and their
causes and make better decisions about what to do about them.
The more we know, the more we will be able to decide for
ourselves if the advice that others give us is helpful or harmful.
Since different communities sometimes have their own
words for parts of the body, in this book we often use medical
or scientific names. This way, women from many different
regions of the world will be able to understand the words.
Where Women Have No Doctor 2012