The female reproductive system contains these parts:

• Ovaries
• Egg tubes (fallopian tubes)
• Uterus (pronounced “yoo-ter-russ”)
• Cervix
• Vagina.
• Ovaries

The two ovaries hold hundreds of undeveloped female sex cells called egg cells or ova. Women have these cells in their bodies from birth – whereas men produce new sperm all the time.

Egg tubes

Each ovary is connected to the uterus by an egg tube. This is otherwise known as the Fallopian tube. The fallopian tube is lined with cilia, which are tiny hairs on cells. Every month, an egg develops and becomes mature, and is released from an ovary. The cilia waft the egg along inside the fallopian tube and into the uterus.

Uterus and cervix

The uterus is also called the womb. It is a muscular bag with a soft lining. The uterus is where a baby develops until its born. The cervix is a ring of muscle at the lower end of the uterus. It closes to keep the baby in place while the woman is pregnant.

Vagina

The vagina is a muscular tube that leads from the cervix to the outside of the woman’s body. A man’s penis goes into the woman’s vagina during sexual intercourse. The opening to the vagina has folds of skin called labia that meet to form a vulva. The urethra also opens into the vulva, but it is separate from the vagina, and is used for passing urine from the body.

The Reproductive System – Periods

The female reproductive system includes a cycle of events called the menstrual cycle. It lasts about 28 days, but it can be slightly less or more than this because everyone is different. The cycle stops while a woman is pregnant. These are the main features of the menstrual cycle.

• The start of the cycle, day 1, is when bleeding from the vagina begins. This is caused by the loss of the lining of the uterus, with a little blood. This is called menstruation or having a period.
• By the end of about day 5, the loss of blood stops. The lining of the uterus begins to re-grow and an egg cell starts to mature in one of the ovaries.
• At about day 14, the mature egg cell is released from the ovary. This is called ovulation. The egg cell travels through the egg tube towards the uterus.
• If the egg cell does not meet with a sperm cell, the lining of the uterus begins to break down and the cycle repeats, (i.e. menstruation).
• If the egg cell meets and joins with a sperm cell, it is fertilised. It attaches to the lining of the uterus and the woman becomes pregnant.

1. Take out a mirror and look at yourself – do it somewhere private and relax (like the bathroom).
2. See if you can recognise all the parts of your genitals – the outer lips, the inner lips, the clitoris, the hood, the entrance to vagina…
3. Acknowledge that you may not be like the pictures in all the anatomy books but everyone is different. You are normal just the way you are.
4. Close your eyes and visualise your genitals as the most beautiful flower in the garden, imagine that your lips are the petals of this flower and, when you open your eyes, gently touch your labia lips with your fingertips as you would touch the petals of the flower.

Remember everyone is different… and not just in the shape of their face but also in their genitals. No-one has the perfect vagina, they are all different and perfect in their own way.

So by getting to know and accept your genitals you will increase the potential for pleasure and orgasm and all-round sense of wellbeing.

Some Vagina Facts

• The female genitalia consists of both external and internal organs. The internal genitalia includes the vagina, uterus and ovaries. The external female genitalia are collectively described as the vulva.
• During puberty the ovaries are stimulated to produce the hormone oestrogen, which causes women to grow breasts and pubic hair, and eventually start their periods.
• The ovaries contain hundreds of tiny sex cells, called eggs. Girls are born with all the eggs they will ever have.
• After the onset of puberty, one egg is usually released at approximately monthly intervals. This process is called ovulation.
• Eggs are released until the woman reaches the menopause.
• The vulva includes the mons pubis, the clitoris, the labia majora and minora, the urethral opening and the vaginal opening.
• The mons pubis is the fleshy mound over the pubic bone where pubic hair grows. It is one of the female erogenous zones.
• The clitoris is the centre of female sexual excitement and reputedly contains more nerve endings than a penis.
• Like the penis, the clitoris contains sponge-like cylinders that fill with blood during sexual arousal, causing it to swell and harden.
• The size and shape of a woman’s labia minora, or inner lips, can vary enormously. Some are small and tucked in while others are longer and protrude from the outer lips. They are rarely symmetrical. All shapes are normal.
• The hymen is a thin piece of skin that partially covers the vaginal opening.
• A torn hymen is not an indication of sexual activity; most are gone long before any such activity takes place. It can happen during childhood (from physical activity like climbing trees or cycling) or from inserting a tampon.

What is it?

The vagina is the passage connecting the internal reproductive organs (the bits inside your body that you need for having a baby) to the outside of your body. The genitals on the outside of your body are called the vulva.

What does it look like?

The vulva looks like a pair of fleshy lips between your legs. These are the labia majora and grow pubic hair after puberty. Inside are a pair of smaller lips called the labia minora. Between the labia minori is the clitoris, which looks like a tiny lump of flesh. Just below the clitoris is the hole connecting to the urethra, and below that is the opening of the vagina.

What does it do?

To have sexual intercourse a boy pushes his penis inside a girl’s vagina. At the end of pregnancy a baby leaves its mother’s body through the vagina. Girls wee through the hole connecting to the urethra (the hole just above the vagina), which is a tube from the bladder.

How does it work?

• The vagina is very stretchy. It will hold a tampon in place, but it can also expand enough to allow a baby through.
• When you become sexually aroused (turned on) your vagina produces fluids to make it easier for a boy’s penis to enter.
• You may have a thin stretch of skin just inside your vagina called the hymen. This is likely to tear when you first have sex.
• Some girls are born without a hymen, or it can tear naturally during physical activity or by using tampons. This doesn’t mean you’re not a virgin – you need to have full sexual intercourse to lose your virginity.
•  The vagina leads up inside your body to the cervix, which is the entrance to your womb, where a baby will develop if you get pregnant.

Pics and facts from Channel 4′s Sexperience website