Female Body Concerns / Question
Published: June 10, 2002
Dear TeenHealthFX,
Can you explain to me what ovulation is and why a girl gets her period every 28 days?
Signed: Wondering About Ovulation
Dear Wondering About Ovulation,
Each month, if you are fertile, (gone through puberty and started getting your period) you experience ovulation. Ovulation is when one of your two ovaries releases an ovum or egg. The egg is a tiny single cell. It travels down your fallopian tube to your uterus. This takes about 5 days.
A few days before ovulation, the lining of your uterus becomes thickened and engorged or full of blood. This prepares your body for the possibility of fertilization (when a sperm meets up with the egg as it travels down the fallopian tube). By the time a fertilized egg reaches the uterus, the lining is prepared for the egg to attach itself to the uterus. Once attached, or implanted, the egg will start developing into an embryo. If this occurs, you are pregnant.
If the egg is not fertilized, the thickened, blood-filled lining of the uterus is shed along with the unfertilized egg. This happens about 14 days after ovulation. This blood, or menstrual fluid, passes out of the neck of the uterus (called the cervix), into the vagina, and out of your body. This blood flow, called menstruation or a menstrual period, lasts an average of 5 days. During the next 9 days a new lining grows in the uterus, and then the whole process of ovulation begins again.
The entire cycle lasts an average of 28 days. This is an average! Some women have shorter cycles while others have longer cycles. Cycles can be within normal ranges from 21 to 45.
It is a good idea for a female to keep track of her periods using a calendar marking when they begin and when they end. If her period is irregular, the female can discuss it with her doctor. If she needs a doctor or gynecologist and lives in the northern New Jersey area you can contact the Adolescent Young Adult Center for Health at 973.971.6475 or Girl's Street - A Young Woman's Health Program at 908.522.2555. If she lives outside of this area, she can contact her local Planned Parenthood.
Signed: TeenHealthFX
A sexually active teenager who does not use contraceptives has a 90% chance of becoming pregnant within one year. 
