THE PROCESS OF

REPRODUCTION
When you finish reading this chapter, you should be able to:
• 1. define fertilization, conception and pregnancy
• 2. explain how pregnancy occurs and its prevention; and
• 3. identify the complications of early pregnancy in the
growing adolescent.

Lesson Objectives:
 Although human beings are fully sexually differentiated at birth,
the differences between males and females are accentuated at puberty.
This is when the reproductive system matures, secondary sexual
characteristics develop, and the bodies of males and females appear
more distinctive.
Female puberty usually begins at about 8-13 years of age; the
reproduction maturation of boys lags about two years behind that of
girls. The physical changes of female puberty include breast
development, rounding of the hips and buttocks, growth of the hair in
the pubic region and the underarm, and the start of menstruation.

Introduction
 The major landmark of puberty among females is the onset of the
menstrual cycle, the monthly ovulation cycle that leads to menstruation
(loss of blood and tissues lining the uterus) in the absence of pregnancy.
The menstrual cycle is from the first day of a period until the day
before the next period starts. Normally, it lasts around 28 days, on the
average, but can be as short as 21 or as long as 40. Whatever the length,
ovulation will happen about 10-16 days before the start of the next
period.

How does one ovulate?

How does
pregnancy occur?
Before pregnancy can begin, two important steps need to take place. An egg must be released
during ovulation and it must be fertilized by a sperm cell.
From a medical point of view, pregnancy begins when a fertilized egg implants into the wall of
the uterus. Pregnancy continues as that egg grows in to an embryo and then a fetus.
1. Ovulation: The ovary releases an egg
• Hormones associated with the menstrual cycle (period)
cause eggs inside the ovaries to mature. Every 28 days or
so, one mature egg is released from the ovary. This is called
ovulation. After the egg is released, it moves into the
fallopian tube where it stays for about 24 hours. If the egg
is not fertilized during that time, the egg disintegrates
(breaks down) and menstruation (your period) begins 11-16
days later.

The Three Steps of Pregnancy

2. Fertilization: Sperm meets egg
• The mature egg is fertilized when it is joined with a sperm cell. This
usually happens after a penis* has ejaculated semen inside a vagina*.
Sperm is contained in the semen which travels up the vagina, through
the cervix and uterus and into the fallopian tubes. If an egg is less than
24 hours old, it can be fertilized by a sperm.
• Fertilization sometimes (but rarely) happens when semen has been
ejaculated outside but near the entrance of the vagina. Technology can
also be used to fertilize an egg, either by inserting semen into the
female’s body (artificial insemination) or by fertilizing an egg outside
the body and then placing it into the uterus.

The Three Steps of Pregnancy

3. Implantation: The fertilized egg attaches to the lining of
the uterus and pregnancy begins.
• Most eggs are fertilized by sperm while still in the fallopian
tube. The fertilized egg then travels down the fallopian tube
into the uterus. This can take 1-2 days. When the egg
reaches the uterus, it may attach itself to the uterine lining
(the endometrium) and pregnancy will begin. Many
fertilized eggs are never implanted and are flushed out of
the body with the next period.

The Three Steps of Pregnancy

 A normal pregnancy lasts 38-42 weeks (nine months). This is measured from the
first day of the last period. Pregnancy is discussed in terms of trimesters (three-month
periods), referred to as a fetus.
 Useful Tip
Even though an egg can only be fertilized
within 24 hours of being released, sperm can
live inside the body for up to five days. That
means that you can have sex when you’re not
ovulating and still become pregnant. In other
words, sperm that was ejaculated on Monday
could fertilize an egg released on Friday.
What can be done to prevent teenage pregnancy?
Teen pregnancy has a tremendous impact on the
educational, social, and economic lives of young people.
Early parenting reduces the likelihood that a young
woman will complete high school and pursue the
necessary post-secondary education needed to compete
in today's economy. Although there is a decline in
teenage pregnancy rates it has been steady over the past
two decades. Teens are still engaging in sexual activity
and teen girls are still getting pregnant.
 Is there a time in your cycle when you
can’t get pregnant?

How can you avoid becoming pregnant?

 There are serious health risks associated with early pregnancy because a
young woman's body is not mature enough to handle bearing a child. When a
woman is under 20, the pelvic area (the bone surrounding the birth canal) is
still growing and may not be large enough to allow the baby to easily pass
through the birth canal. This can result in what is called an "obstructed
labor".
Obstructed labor is dangerous to both mother and child and requires the
help of trained medical professionals. Under the best circumstances, the
young woman will have an operation called a "caesarean section in which a
cut is made in the abdomen and the baby is removed directly from the uterus.

What are the health effects of early pregnancy

in the growing adolescent?
 A major contributor to high maternal mortality rates is adolescent
pregnancy. If a young woman is not physically mature, the uterus may tear
during the birth process, and she may die because of blood loss.
If she is lucky and survives the delivery, she might face fistula due to
prolonged labor. A baby's head can also tear the vagina causing a hole
between the vagina and bladder or between the vagina and the rectum,
resulting in what is known as a fistula. Unless she has an operation to fix her
problem, for the rest of her life, she will not be able to hold her urine or feces
and this will make her a social outcast.

What are the health effects of early pregnancy

in the growing adolescent?
In addition, younger women who become pregnant face a higher risk than older
women in developing a number of other complications. These complications can be
any or a combination of the following manifestations:
• excessive vomiting;
• severe anemia;
• hypertension; convulsions;
• difficulty in breast feeding (if the girl is too young to produce milk);
• premature and low birth weight babies;
• infection; prolonged labor;
• and high maternal mortality or death.

What are the health effects of early pregnancy

in the growing adolescent?
 The risk of having serious complications during pregnancy or childbirth is much
higher for girls in their early teens than for older women. Ages of 20-30 years are the
safest period of women's life for child bearing. The major difference between girls in their
early teens and older women is that girls aged 12-16 years are still growing. The pelvis,
or the bony birth canal, of a girl can grow wider by as much as 20% between the time she
begins menstruating and the time she is 16 years old.
This widening of the pelvis can make the crucial difference between a safe delivery
and obstructed labor. It is not surprising, therefore, to find that obstructed labor, due to
disproportion between the size of the infant's head and the mother's pelvis, is most
common among very young mothers. The consequences of such obstructed labor may be
death due to numerous complications or lifetime crippling conditions of vesico-vaginal
fistula.

What are the health effects of early pregnancy

in the growing adolescent?
 Reproduction involves the ova and sperm to fuse. Their union
can lead to the creation of a new life through pregnancy. This has
explored the process of pregnancy and the changes that happen
during pregnancy. We have discussed the various ways of
preventing pregnancy so that the growing adolescent would be
empowered to choose to avert from early pregnancy that can lead to
various life-threatening complications.

SUMMARY
 Discuss and research on advantages and disadvantages of the following contraceptives.

CONTRACEPTIVE ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES

Group 1 Condom
Group 2 Calendar method
Group 3 Birth Control Pills

GROUP ACTIVITY
1. What do you often hear about sex?
2. Draw a mind map showing the ways
to avoid the pressure to have sex.

Assessment