Hormonal Changes During Puberty In Females

What Happens To My Body During Puberty

Theres no way around it your bodys gonna change a lot during puberty. Heres what to expect.

All bodies:

• You may get acne on your face and body. If pimples are stressing you out or causing problems in your life, talk to a doctor.

• You start to sweat more, and you may have body odor . You may want to shower more and start using deodorant.

• Hair grows under your armpits.

• Hair grows around your genitals this is called pubic hair.

• You may grow more hair on your arms and legs, and the hair may get darker.

• You may feel some pain in your arms and legs as you grow

Males:

• Your voice gets lower or deeper. It may crack sometimes while its changing, but thats totally normal and eventually goes away. Your Adams apple might get bigger and more visible as this happens.

• Hair may grow on your face, chest, and back.

• Your chest and shoulders get broader.

• You may have swelling around your nipples during puberty. This can look like the start of breasts, but it usually goes away. This happens to about half of males, and it can last for a few months or up to a few years.

Females:

• Your breasts develop and get bigger.

• Your hips get wider and your body may become more curvy.

• You start getting your period.

• Your labia may change color and grow bigger.

Psychological Changes During Puberty

During the course of puberty and adolescence, young people begin to shift away from concrete thinking to the more adult abstract thinking. Concrete thinking occurs when objects have to represent things or ideas for problem-solving. In contrast, abstract thinking is the ability to use internal symbols or images to represent reality. Young people are therefore able to move from thinking literally to thinking hypothetically about the future, and to assess multiple outcomes when faced with a problem.

Early puberty

During the early stages of puberty, concrete thinking still dominates, but early moral concepts begin to appear. Sexual orientation may also develop at this stage.

Mid-puberty

Mid-puberty, abstract thinking begins to feature more prominently. Many young people at this stage still have a sense of invincibility akin to that during childhood. The law is still generally identified as a guide to what is right, and its morality is not questioned. Fervent ideology may also start to develop, for example in the form of religious or political views.

Late puberty

Late in puberty, there is the development of complex abstract thinking and the identification of differences between law and morality, leading to questioning of the law and authoritative figures. Personal identity is also further developed.

Emotional Changes For Girls And Boys Around Puberty

Emotional changes sometimes occur before the physical changes of puberty. Many young people want to take greater control of their lives as they pass through puberty. You may find that you are:

• experiencing a greater sense of self
• starting to have a sexual interest in other people.
• experiencing changes of mood, energy and sleep patterns.

Emotional challenges that may emerge at this time include:

• coping with a changing body and feeling self-conscious about looks
• feeling frustrated when you cannot achieve what you want to achieve, and getting angry.

These emotional changes are an important part of you working out your own moral values and identity.

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Male Musculature And Body Shape

By the end of puberty, adult men have heavier bones and nearly twice as much skeletal muscle. Some of the bone growth is disproportionately greater, resulting in noticeably different male and female skeletal shapes. The average adult male has about 150% of the lean body mass of an average female, and about 50% of the body fat.

This muscle develops mainly during the later stages of puberty, and muscle growth can continue even after boys are biologically adult. The peak of the so-called “strength spurt”, the rate of muscle growth, is attained about one year after a male experiences his peak growth rate.

Often, the fat pads of the male breast tissue and the male nipples will develop during puberty sometimes, especially in one breast, this becomes more apparent and is termed gynecomastia. It is usually not a permanent phenomenon.

Teenage Female Hormones: Symptoms

In girls, FSH and LH instruct the ovaries to begin producing estrogen, one of the primary female sex hormones, and eggs. Girls will grow taller and put on weight and muscle mass. They will begin to have a menstrual cycle and will develop fuller breasts and wider hips. Body hair grows on the legs, under the arms and over the sex organs as a result of teenage girl hormones and emotions may begin to be more volatile and intense. Acne may become more prevalent, along with stronger body odor.

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Your Adolescent’s Relationships With Others

As your adolescent begins to struggle for independence and control, many changes may occur. The following are some of the issues that may be involved with your adolescent during these years:

• She wants independence from parents.

• Peer influence and acceptance is very important.

• Peer relationships become very important.

• She may be in love.

• She may have long-term commitment in relationships.

Female Hormones During The Menopause

The next significant hormonal change for most women occurs around the time of the last period. A woman is said to have reached the menopause when she has not had a period for one year. In the UK, the average age for a woman to reach the menopause is 52. If the menopause occurs under 40 years of age, it’s known as premature menopause or premature ovarian failure.

It’s estimated that premature menopause affects 1 per cent of women under the age of 40 and 0.1 per cent of women under the age of 30. Over five to ten years leading up to a woman’s last period, the normal functioning of her ovaries begins to deteriorate. This can cause her menstrual cycle to become shorter or longer, and sometimes it becomes quite erratic. Periods may become heavier or lighter.

Eventually, the ovaries produce so little oestrogen that the lining of the womb fails to thicken up and so periods stop altogether. Although it’s rare for a woman to become pregnant after the menopause it can, and does, happen so the usual advice is to carry on using contraception for two years after your last period if you are under 50 and for one year if you are over 50.

A woman is said to have reached the menopause when she has not had a period for one year.

Other problems include vaginal dryness, discomfort during sex, recurrent urine infections and incontinence. It may also contribute to the depression, irritability and poor concentration which some menopausal women experience.

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Genetic Influence And Environmental Factors

Various studies have found direct genetic effects to account for at least 46% of the variation of timing of puberty in well-nourished populations. The genetic association of timing is strongest between mothers and daughters. The specific genes affecting timing are not yet known. Among the candidates is an androgen receptor gene.

Researchers have hypothesized that early puberty onset may be caused by certain hair care products containing estrogen or placenta, and by certain chemicals, namely phthalates, which are used in many cosmetics, toys, and plastic food containers.

If genetic factors account for half of the variation of pubertal timing, environment factors are clearly important as well. One of the first observed environmental effects is that puberty occurs later in children raised at higher altitudes. The most important of the environmental influences is clearly nutrition, but a number of others have been identified, all which affect timing of female puberty and menarche more clearly than male puberty.

Hormones and steroids

Harder to detect as an influence on puberty are the more diffusely distributed environmental chemicals like PCBs , which can bind and trigger estrogen receptors.

Nutritional influence

Obesity influence and exercise

Physical and mental illness

Stress and social factors

What Is Normal Breast Development

Breast development is a vital part of a womans reproduction. Breast development happens in certain stages during a woman’s life: first before birth, again at puberty, and later during the childbearing years. Changes also happen to the breasts during the menstrual cycle and when a woman reaches menopause.

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Putting The Pu In Puberty

A lot of teens notice that they have a new smell under their arms and elsewhere on their bodies when they enter puberty, and it’s not a pretty one. That smell is body odor, and everyone gets it. As you enter puberty, the puberty hormones affect glands in your skin, and the glands make chemicals that smell bad. These chemicals put the scent in adolescent!

So what can you do to feel less stinky? Well, keeping clean is a good way to lessen the smell. You might want to take a shower every day, either in the morning before school, or the night before. Using deodorant every day can help keep body odor in check, too.

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Your Child May Want To Be Alone

Teenagers are in a transitional state during puberty and are trying to figure things out for themselves. As much as you would want them to talk to you and work with you, they want their space and may often ask you to leave them alone. This behavior is expected but if your child is spending excessive amounts of time alone that may indicate that they are struggling beyond what is typical for this developmental stage.

How To Cope:

It is normal for adolescents to want to spend time alone. But if you think they are spending too much time inside the room and not with friends or family, it is a cause for concern. Talk to your teen about it and understand what motivates them to stay alone. Also, find out what they do when they are alone be subtle about it. If you think it is a problem area, you may want to talk to a professional.

Emotional changes in teenagers are not unnatural. But if you find that they are drastic and they are engaging in harmful behavior, struggling with school, or struggling in relationships both inside and outside the home then you may want to bring in professional help.

Tell us how you and your teen deal with the emotional changes during puberty!

References:

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Milestones In Sexual Development

Mood Changes In Puberty

Is your teen is moody or otherwise behaving differently? Hormones or your childs feelings about physical changes, friends, or school may be the culprit. If youre concerned, there are a number of mental health resources you can find online as well as local support groups, school psychologists, and community programs that may help.

Be on the lookout for signs of depression or anxiety, like trouble sleeping, avoidance, or poor performance in school. Any extreme or troubling mood changes should be discussed with your childs doctor. In some cases, therapy or medication may help.

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What Happens To The Breasts During Pregnancy And Milk Production

Many healthcare providers believe the breasts are not fully mature until a woman has given birth and made milk. Breast changes are one of the earliest signs of pregnancy. This is a result of the hormone progesterone. In addition, the dark areas of skin around the nipples begin to swell. This is followed by the rapid swelling of the breasts themselves. Most pregnant women feel soreness down the sides of the breasts, and nipple tingling or soreness. This is because of the growth of the milk duct system and the formation of many more lobules.

Other physical changes happen as well. These include the blood vessels in the breast becoming more visible and the areola getting larger and darker. All of these changes are in preparation for breastfeeding the baby after birth.

Changes At Puberty: Girls Vs Boys

Some other changes that are common to boys and girls

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Pubertal Hormones Change Brain Structure And Function

Puberty is a dynamic transition period that prepares us for the adult world. Yet, even as adults, life is constantly in flux and our brains need ways of adapting to these ongoing changes. The same hormones that help shape the brain and body during puberty are actually at play throughout the entire lifespan! Even before birth, testosterone and estrogen are involved in early brain development, helping to create new neurons and guide them as they form the brains structure. During puberty, these hormones then act to permanently change the organization and structure of the brain into its mature form .

• Figure 3 – Different parts of the brain change in response to different hormones.
• Androgen hormones like testosterone and DHEA, as well as estrogen hormones like estradiol, are especially important for the proper development of parts of the brain involved in learning and memory, sexual behaviors, and emotion processing. Using animal models together with studies of healthy humans as well as those with hormonal disorders, scientists are starting to get a better picture of how the pubertal hormones change the structure and the function of the brain.

What Causes Changes During Puberty

Chemicals are responsible for the above-given changes in both males and females. During puberty, there is increased secretion of sex hormones which causes changes in puberty. In males, there is increased secretion of testosterone from the testis, while in females, there is increased secretion of oestrogen from ovaries. These sex hormones make the male and female sexually mature. Puberty makes the sexually matured organisms identifiable.

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What Happens To My Body During The Menstrual Cycle

During puberty, reproductive organs begin to develop. When people with a uterus are born, there are hundreds of thousands of eggs inside their ovaries.

When youve reached puberty, each month these hormones will cause an egg to start maturing and be released from the ovary. This process is called ovulation.

The egg moves along the fallopian tube towards the uterus. At the same time, the lining of the uterus becomes thick and soft with blood and tissue. This happens just in case the egg is fertilised. It would then implant itself into the lining of the uterus and grow.

Fertilisation only happens if the egg joins with a sperm. More often than not, the egg isnt fertilised so it is just reabsorbed back into the body.

This is what is called menstruation or a period.

Hormones And The Body

How does the body know to grow? What happens on the inside that makes us change on the outside? If you think about any complex process, it usually requires an organized system to manage all the moving parts. When you listen to a symphony, for example, many different instruments must play the right notes at the right times to produce the beautiful music we hear. For all these separate elements to work together, a conductor tells each instrument what, when, and how to play.

In the body, our genes are like musical notes that are strung together to make each bodys own unique song. When the appropriate time comes, special chemicals called hormones are like conductors that tell other parts of the body what to do. The many organ systems in the body are then like the instruments that carry out the conductors commands and bring the entire process to life. During these intricate periods of transition, hormones serve as messengers that travel throughout the body and give orders to grow , change shape and size, or make more of something the body needs .

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Why Emotional Changes Occur During Puberty

Image: iStock+

Puberty is a process through which a child develops into a sexually mature adult. Adolescence is a period that can be best described as an emotional roller coaster ride.

Puberty begins with an increase in hormone production, which leads to changes that result in physical and psychological changes . The hormonal changes have a direct effect on the development, growth, and function of the brain, bones, skin, and sex organs. They also stimulate libido, which is one of the major emotional triggers during puberty.

What If Puberty Hits Really Early Or Late

Not everyone is on the same timetable. Some boys begin to see changes very early, which is called precocious puberty. Others may not see changes until later, which is often referred to as delayed puberty.

Early puberty: If your son shows signs of puberty before the age of 9, make a call to his healthcare provider. This may signal a pituitary gland problem or neurological issue. Your sons healthcare provider should evaluate him as soon as you suspect a problem.

Possible causes for early puberty include:

• The pituitary gland turning on hormones too early.
• Hypothyroidism .
• A tumor on the adrenal gland or elsewhere.

If the problem is hormonal, an endocrinologist can prescribe puberty blockers to halt puberty until the time is right. Puberty blockers are medications that prevent your childs body from producing the sex hormones that cause the physical changes of puberty. If your sons healthcare provider suspects another problem, your son may be referred for further testing.

Delayed puberty: If your son starts puberty after age 14 or isnt progressing through puberty, youll also want to check with his healthcare provider. Your son may just be a late bloomer particularly if his father was as well.

But hormone or endocrine abnormalities can also delay puberty. If your childs healthcare provider suspects an underlying problem, your son will likely be referred to a specialist for more testing.

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