54 Health Concerns of Girls
Changes in
Your Body
(Puberty)
All girls go through changes in their bodies, but the changes
happen differently for each girl. So do not worry if your
body does not look exactly like your sister’s or friend’s.
Growing. Your first change will probably be that you grow
fast. You may be taller than all of the boys your age for a
while. You will usually stop growing 1 to 3 years after your
monthly bleeding starts.
Body changes. Besides growing fast, your body will begin
to change. There are natural chemicals in the body called
hormones that tell your body to grow and that make these
changes happen.
How a girl’s body changes in puberty
• You grow taller and rounder.
• Your face gets oily and pimples
or spots may grow.
• You sweat more.
• Hair grows under your arms
and on your genitals.
• Your breasts grow as they
become able to make milk. As
they get larger, it is common
for the nipples to hurt
sometimes. One breast may
begin to grow before the other,
but the smaller breast almost
always catches up.
• Wetness (discharge) starts to
come out of your vagina.
• Your monthly bleeding starts
(menstruation).
43
understanding our
bodies
➤ Changes of
puberty do not all
happen at the same
time or in the same
order.
Inside your body. There are other changes that you cannot
see. The womb (uterus), tubes, ovaries, and vagina grow and
change position.
What you feel. As you go through these changes you become
more aware of your body. You may also become more
interested in boys, and in your friends. There may be times
when your feelings are hard to control. In the days before
monthly bleeding, it is even more common to have strong
feelings of all kinds—joy, anger, and worry, for example.
Where Women Have No Doctor 2012