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20 March 2009SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT: GIRL INTO WOMAN

In the latter part of adolescence, usually well after menstruation has begun, a girl’s body begins to take up its female shape. (Prior to puberty, girls and boys, except for their external genitalia, are very similar.) The changes that a girl experiences are directly related to the secretion of female hormones, oestrogen and progesterone. She becomes taller, her hips and thighs get fleshier, and she is more rounded and curvier. Her breasts begin to swell and hair grows under her arms and between her legs. Her internal and external genital organs grow and develop, and the vaginal wall starts to thicken. Vaginal secretions may appear.

A woman’s ultimate shape is dependent on two things: the amount of hormones she produces, and the sensitivity of her body in reacting to these hormones.

At around the age of 45, ovarian function gradually wanes, and levels of oestrogen and progesterone decline, resulting in cessation of menstruation and the loss of fertility, the thinning of the vaginal walls and, very often, bone changes that result in a loss of height.

The “average” mature woman is 158 centimetres (5 feet 3½ inches) tall and weighs 61 kilos (135 pounds); her bust, waist and hip measurements are 90, 75, 95 centimetres (36, 30, 38 inches).

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