Female Reproductive System Basics
Why is it important for women to understand how their reproductive system work?
It's important for women to understand how their reproductive system works because once a woman knows what normal feels like in their own body, then she'll know if anything new comes up that could be potentially abnormal and they need to take care of. For example, if a woman does a breast exam every month, three days after the first day of their period, and they do this regularly, they'll know what the tissues of their breast feels like. And this could be different from one breast to the other, from one person to the other as well. So once they know what's normal, if they find anything or they feel anything that is not usual, then that could mean something important, or not. But if they understand how the reproductive system works, at least they can tell their doctors to catch things early if it should be a problem.
What is the best way to understand the female reproductive system?
The woman's reproductive organs, or system, is designed for childbirth. It's designed for pregnancy, and allows a woman to get pregnant when she's ready to do so. The external genitalia are a receptacle for sperm, and the uterus is where the pregnancy or the baby's health, and the ovaries are designed to produce hormones and they perform the ovulatory functions.
How is female sexual genitalia comparable to male genitalia?
The clitoris is basically the most sensitive organ and is equivalent to the male penis. The reason why it is equivalent is that it receives an atomicaly desent to the same nerve endings as a penis does. So it is the most sensitive the most nerve endings of any other organ in the genitalia. The vulva tissue is equivalent to a scrotum, and that also has some nerve endings, but not as much as a clitoris. The similarity between the clitoris and the male penis doesn't end there. It's both spongy tissue. Just like a man gets an erection, a woman also gets an erection when she becomes exited and this clitoris becomes filled with blood. This spongy tissue becomes filled with blood. There is always a hood usually covering the clitoris, and when a woman becomes excited, and this clitoris becomes erect, this usually pokes out and shows itself.
Are all female genitals shaped the same?
Not all female genitals are shaped the same. Sometimes the clitoris is larger, sometimes shorter. The lips on the outside of the vulva sometimes can be larger, sometimes smaller. With time, it can change. The color can change and the sensitivity can change. So everybody's really different. The general idea is the same: the clitoris is on top with a little hood on it, and the lips on the outside. But with the size and the shape, there can be many variations to that same structure.
What parts make up the internal female reproductive organs?
The vagina is the first opening we get to from the outside. If you think of the vagina as a hallway, it leads to an opening, the cervix. The cervix is where we get the Pap Smear from. And it's an opening to a muscular organ, the uterus. The uterus is a muscle, really. The cervix leads into a smaller opening in the endocervical canal, and then inside of the uterus. The lining of the uterus sheds every month, and that's where the period comes from, and also when a woman is pregnant that's where the baby grows. From the uterus there are two tubes that extend out, those are fallopian tubes that serve to create a communication between the sperm and the egg. And the ovaries are on the two sides, one on each side, and they perform a vital function of the hormonal reproduction.
What are the major functions of the "ovaries"?
Ovaries do two things. Ovaries are the main reproductive organ, meaning that if a woman did not have fallopian tubes or the uterus, she could get pregnant by the eggs that the ovaries produce. The ovaries also produce hormones. The hormones the ovaries produce create the cycles that a woman goes through. Ovaries produce the eggs that can become fertile and produce a baby.
What is "ovulation"?
Ovulation is when from several candidate eggs, or follicles, one grows and becomes a mature. Then this will open or pop and release an egg and that is called ovulation. Now that may take anywhere between two, three, or four weeks, in different women, but usually the average time interval of ovulation is two to three weeks.
What is a "menstrual cycle" or "period"?
The menstrual cycle starts from one period to the beginning of the next period and that length of time can vary. We hear that 28 days is a normal time interval, but that's not really true. It can go back and forth up to a week in different women, so if someone has a menstrual period between 21 to 35 days it's still within the normal range and not everybody is precisely on the dot. Some people have a period little earlier this month, a little later next month. As long as it comes within that time range for the menstrual cycle, that's a normal cycle.
What are some common myths about menstrual and pregnancy?
Now the myths about menstruation is about the time of menstruation. So lets say that somebody menstruates two days a month, some women think they can't get pregnant because there's not enough blood that's coming out. Or the things that I've heard is that, "Well I can't get pregnant, I just have finished my menses." Well that's not true either. That has something to do with ovulation and when the woman's body or how long her cycle lasts. I've also heard some women are pregnant but they still get their menses and that's really not true either. The other day a woman was telling me that her aunt many years ago had her menses every month on time despite being pregnant. That doesn't happen.
What are "menstrual cramps"?
Menstrual cramps are contractions of the muscular organ in the uterus. So, what happens is that as the time of menstruation approaches, the hormones change in the body. The prostigland are what we call the hormones that are released, they cause contractions of this muscle and cause pain. In some women if the menstruations are becoming more and more painful with time with age, that could also signal other problems: fibroids, tumors of the uterus, and endometriosis can result in pain before periods. So those are the things that if it changes they need to look into, but if it's always the same, then it's not a problem it's the contraction of the muscle and it's nothing to worry about.
