Becoming A Woman - Everything You Wanted to Know About Puberty - It Doesn't Hurt, It's Just a Growth

"Spurt" is the word used to describe a short burst of activity, something that happens in a hurry. And a growth spurt is just that: your body is growing, and it's happening really fast! When you enter puberty, it might seem like your sleeves are always getting shorter and your pants always look like you're ready for a flood - that's because you're experiencing a major growth spurt. It lasts for about 2 to 3 years. When that growth spurt is at its peak, some people grow 4 or more inches in 1 year!

This growth during puberty will be the last time your body will grow taller. When you finish your growth spurt, you will be at your adult height. But your height isn't the only thing that will be changing.

Taking Shape

As your body grows taller, it will be changing in other ways, too. You will gain weight, and as your body becomes heavier, you'll start to notice changes in its overall shape. Guys' shoulders will grow wider, and their bodies will become more muscular. Their breasts may grow a bit, but this goes away for most guys by the end of puberty. Their voices will become deeper. They will notice other changes, too, like the lengthening and widening of the penis and the enlargement of the testes. All of these changes mean that their bodies are developing as expected during puberty.

Girls' bodies usually become curvier. They gain weight on their hips, and their breasts develop, starting with just a little swelling under the nipple. Sometimes one breast might develop more quickly than the other, but most of the time they soon even out. With all this growing and developing going on, girls will notice an increase in body fat and occasional soreness under the nipples as the breasts start to enlarge - and that's normal. Gaining some weight is part of developing into a woman, and it's unhealthy for girls to go on a diet to try to stop this normal weight gain. If you ever have questions or concerns about your weight, talk it over with your doctor.

Usually about 1 1/2 to 2 years after girls' breasts start to develop, they experience their first menstrual period - one more thing that lets them know puberty is progressing. It means that the puberty hormones have been doing their job. Girls have two ovaries, and each ovary holds thousands of eggs. During the menstrual cycle, one of the eggs comes out of an ovary and begins a trip through the fallopian tube, ending up in the uterus (the uterus is also called the womb). Before the egg is released from the ovary, the uterus has been building up its lining with extra blood and tissue. If the egg gets to the uterus and is fertilized by a sperm cell, it will stay there and grow into a baby, using that extra blood and tissue to keep it healthy and protected as it's developing. Most of the time, though, the egg is only passing through. When the egg doesn't get fertilized and stay in the uterus, the uterus no longer needs the extra blood and tissue, so it leaves the body through the vagina as a menstrual period. A period usually lasts from 5 to 7 days, and about 2 weeks later a new egg is released and the whole cycle begins again.