UNIT FIVE: PUBERTY HiTOPS, Inc./Princeton Center for Leadership Training OVERVIEW PUBERTY PRE-TESTS Outline PUBERTY WITH SAM AND SALLY MENSTRUATION: HOW DOES IT WORK? SPERMATOGENESIS: HOW DOES IT WORK? Overview This unit addresses the physical changes that occur for boys and girls during puberty, the reproductive anatomy of males and females, and the ins and outs of what happens during menstruation and spermatogenesis. Activities help students to learn that there is a wide range of normal in each change of puberty. This unit lays the foundation for future units (e.g., birth control methods, HIV prevention, STI prevention, etc.) and will prepare students to conduct the Puberty Education: When It s Time to Change workshop with younger audiences. Puberty Pre-tests Purpose: A pre-test helps students focus on the subject and appreciate what they need to learn Directions: Students fill out pre-tests and put aside to correct and discuss at the end of puberty instruction. PRE-TEST 1. Young women should avoid heat and swimming and reduce the amount that they exercise during menstruation. 2. Menstruation affects a woman s ability to think. 3. Exercise helps to reduce unpleasant symptoms of menstruation for some women. Menstruating women may exercise or swim or heat up as much as they choose. Exercise is especially helpful in decreasing cramps. 1
4. Dysmenorrhea (cramping during one s period) is related to prostaglandin release and can be relieved by medication. Advil or Motrin are anti-prostaglandin medication and are very useful in relieving cramps. 5. A girl can get pregnant if she has sex during her period. Suppose a girl s period lasts 7 days and she has sex at the end of her period. The sperm can live for 7 days, which means sperm could be present at ovulation on day 14. 6. A girl can figure out an absolutely safe time between periods when she can not get pregnant. A girl should never assume she is safe. Ovulation can be unpredictable and some women bleed lightly with ovulation. 7. The average menstrual cycle lasts 28 days with ovulation occurring on day one. Ovulation occurs on day 14 of a 28 day average cycle. (Day one is the first day of menstruation, so ovulation is in the middle.) 8. 3-5 eggs are released each month in ovulation. One egg is usually released each month. Occasionally, more than one egg may be released, resulting in twins or triplets. 9. The endometrium or lining of the uterus is reabsorbed if a woman does not become pregnant. The endometrium or lining of the uterus is shed as menstrual fluid if the woman does not become pregnant. 10. If a teenage girl has irregular periods, she may have uterine cancer. Irregular periods can be normal for teenagers 11. A girl cannot use a tampon if she is a virgin. With practice, anyone can use a tampon. It will not affect virginity. 12. Girls can wash their hair, but shouldn t get a perm, when they have their period. 2
13. Boys can tell when a girl is having her period. 1. The male hormone which causes puberty changes in males is called progesterone. Answers The male hormone is called testosterone. 2. Sperm are made in the penis. Sperm are made in the testicles. 3. The epididymis is where sperm are matured. 4. Masturbating several times a day will cause physical and psychological damage. Masturbation does not cause physical or psychological damage. However, anything that interferes with daily living can become a problem. 5. The tubule inside the testes, if stretched endto-end, would be the length of a yard stick. 6. Fresh sperm is made every 24 hours in the male testicles. 7. The maturation of sperm in the epididymis takes about 4-6 weeks. It would be the length of a football field. 3
8. If you masturbate before having sex with a female, then she won t get pregnant. Masturbation before sex will decrease sperm count but does not ensure that a female will not get pregnant. 9. The testicles are positioned outside the body because sperm will not be produced at body temperature. 10. The amount of semen expelled in one ejaculation is about 1/8 of a cup. The amount of semen in one ejaculate is about one teaspoon. 11. The sperm are mixed with fluids from the seminal vesicles, prostate and the bladder before passing out of the penis. Semen is not mixed with urine. 12. Having sex in a hot tub will decrease the risk of pregnancy due to heating of the testicles. Keeping the testicles too warm will decrease current sperm production, not sperm that is ready for ejaculation. 13. There are about 100 million sperm in each ejaculation. There are about 300-500 million sperm in one ejaculate. Purpose: Menstruation: How Does it Work? It is important to know proper names for anatomical parts so that peer educators can talk about puberty in a professional manner. It is necessary to understand menstruation in order to understand how contraceptive methods work. Look at The Female Reproductive System diagram and identify each body part in the drawing and read the name and function from the definitions. 4
Menstrual Cycle Average menstrual cycle is 28 days long. It can be shorter than 28 days, some longer and some are irregular, meaning they vary from month to month. In an average 28 day cycle 1st day of the menstrual period is considered day 1, with ovulation halfway through on day 14. Then the period begins after another 14 days, making a 28 day cycle. During the first half of the cycle from days 1-14 the eggs are ripening in the ovary. Ovulation Typically only one egg will come to full maturity and be released out of the ovary on day 14. The egg then travels down the fallopian tube, where tiny hairs called cilia move the egg along the tube into the uterus. By this time the uterus has built up a nice spongy lining, called the endometrium, that is ready for a fertilized egg which will turn into a baby in 9 months. If the egg is not fertilized, it disintegrates and is shed with the endometrium the menstrual period. This whole process repeats This happens over and over again every month from puberty until menopause, when the ovaries stop functioning between the ages of 45 and 55. Pregnancy & Conception If a woman has sexual intercourse and does not use a reliable form of birth control, pregnancy can occur. The Sperm s journey Semen containing sperm is deposited in the vagina. The sperm travel through the cervix, into the uterus and out the fallopian tubes. Many do not survive this long hazardous journey. Some go up the wrong tube, since a woman usually alternates which tube she ovulates from each month. Even though there are 300-500 million sperm in one ejaculate, only about 50 get to the egg. Conception continued Usually, only one will penetrate the outer shell of the egg and fertilization occurs. The fertilized egg travels though the tube and implants in the endometrium, where the fetus grows. Twins --- occur in two ways. Fraternal twins -Two eggs get fertilized by two different sperm Identical - One egg is fertilized by one sperm and the fertilized egg splits in two Spermatogenesis: How Does it Work? Purpose: It is important to know proper names for anatomical parts, so that peer educators can talk about puberty in a professional manner. It is also necessary to understand spermatogenesis to be knowledgeable about how contraceptive methods work. Look at the Male Reproductive System diagram and identify each body part on the diagram and read the name and discuss their functions. 5
The Male Reproductive System The testicles are located within the scrotum. The scrotum s function is to keep the testicles at the correct temperature for sperm production. Sperm production starts during puberty and continue for the rest of their lives. Sperm collect in the epididymis where they are matured for 4-6 weeks. When mature they travel out of the scrotal sac and up the vas deferens - two 14-inch long tubes - and are stored in the ampula until ejaculation. Ejaculation & Ejaculate Just prior to ejaculation, the sperm mix with semen or seminal fluid made in the seminal vesicle and prostate. Seminal fluid provides energy for the sperm to travel. At the point of ejaculation, a valve shuts off the urethra, so that urine cannot be discharged with the semen. Semen is released and travels down the urethra and out of the head of the penis. Ejaculate is about 1 teaspoon of fluid, 9/10 of which is semen and the other tenth is sperm. How much fluid is in one ejaculate? How many sperm in one ejaculate? 300-500 million How many does it take to get somebody pregnant? One teaspoon One If you stretched the tubules in the testicle end to end, how long would it be? The length of a football field How long can sperm live in the female reproductive tract? 7 days 6