Information concerning the external organs.—The word vulva is the name of the lower external female organs of sex. It is composed of the following parts: (1) The labia majora are the outer and larger lips or folds; (2) The labia minora are the smaller and more concealed lips; (3) The mons Veneris is the prominent, eminence formed by fatty tissue situated just in front and above the labia majora; (4) The hymen is a very thin membrane which partly closes the opening to the vagina; (5) The clitoris is a small organ of an erectile structure and is the site of passion in the female. This organ is situated near the upper and front part of the opening into the vagina and between the folds of the labia minora. Connected with this organ is a small tough membrane or ligament called the frenum which corresponds to the frenulum of the male. Sometimes, though rarely, this is short and tight or broad and hooded. When this is the case the parts become irritated at times causing sex consciousness and passion; and when it does the girl will rub or scratch these organs. If she does this often she will become conscious of a sense of pleasure. She will then handle the organs for the purpose of producing this pleasure. In this way a girl will learn a vicious habit, the nature and effects of which we will study in another talk. While only a few girls have this trouble, it is very necessary that the causes be removed. Should you find yourself frequently rubbing these organs you should speak to mamma about it.
Confidential advice.—In the mucous membrane of these external organs of sex are thousands of little glands that secrete a foul, filthy substance called smegma. If this is not removed frequently with a damp cloth, it will irritate these organs and produce an offensive odor.
If you should discover that you are frequently scratching those organs, or have an unnatural feeling, you should consult your mamma for advice. Your health, happiness, life and character are, to a considerable extent, based on these organs’ being natural and normal.
CHAPTER XV
MOTHER’S SECOND TALK—DAWNING OF WOMANHOOD
An interesting change in a girl’s life.—In the previous talk, we found that God has planned for a most interesting change to take place in a girl’s life. This change from girlhood to womanhood, called puberty, and covering a period of eight years, is brought about by certain changes in the sexual organs. At birth these organs are inactive and remain so until the girl, in this climate, is thirteen or fourteen years of age. In the Southern states it occurs a year sooner. In Central America, puberty comes when the girl is ten and eleven. In Canada this change comes a year later than here. Thus we see that climatic conditions either hasten or retard this change. In climates where puberty is delayed to the fourteenth and fifteenth years, girls are healthier, more energetic and live longer than in warm climates. This would indicate that the longer puberty is delayed in a girl’s life, if she is otherwise healthy, the better for her. If the girl keeps company with wild girls, enjoys obscene jokes, reads cheap novels, entertains impure thoughts or handles her sexual organs, she may cause puberty to come on six months sooner than it naturally would come—a misfortune indeed for her. In a few girls, especially those who develop rapidly, puberty may occur in the eleventh year.
Signs of puberty.—During this period of puberty, or adolescence, which usually lasts for eight years, she is changing from a girl to a woman. This is one of the most important events in a girl’s life. The approach of this period is usually heralded by an uneasy feeling in the small of the back, heaviness about the ovaries, sometimes by headaches and possibly by pains in other parts of the body. One of the ovaries has formed a little egg or ovum. A flow of mucus tinged with blood, formed by the mucous membrane of the womb, passes from the body by way of the vagina. This usually lasts about four days. Meanwhile the ovum is conveyed by the fallopian tube to the womb where, after the flow has ceased, it remains several days, before passing from the body by way of the vagina.
Menstruation.—The discharge is called the menstrual fluid. If the girl is healthy, this will occur once each lunar month, or every twenty-eight days. It is for this reason that the flow is called menstruation. This word comes from the Latin word “mensis,” meaning a month. This monthly experience is known by several names, “Menses,” “periods,” “courses,” and “unwell.” The doctors use the term “Menses,” and this is doubtless the best one to use.
How made regular and painless.—When a girl has good health, does not expose herself so as to take colds, dresses so as not to compress her body and push these organs out of their proper place, takes plenty of outdoor exercise, keeps her mind pure and free from ugly thoughts, and does not abuse her sexual organs, she will be regular in her menses and will feel but little inconvenience or pain. Experience shows that just in proportion as a girl fails to follow the rules I have just stated, will her menses be irregular and painful.
Physical, mental and moral changes.—It will be noticed in the first stages of puberty that the limbs are growing larger and more shapely, the shoulders are growing backward and downward, the chest is expanding, the breasts are enlarging, the skin is becoming more delicate and rosy, the hips are growing broader, the hair is growing thicker, longer and more glossy, and the voice is developing richer tones. With all these physical changes that are taking place, the mental and moral natures are changing as well. The girl will now take a keener interest in society, and in mental and moral matters. These changes show that the developing sex life is making a woman of the girl.
The charms of womanhood.—This new life is making her attractive, lovable, sociable, brilliant and attractive. This new life adds very much to the natural charms of a girl, making the naturally beautiful girl more beautiful and the homely girl more attractive. The girl with a “doll face,” and weak in her sexual nature, will not be as attractive as the more homely girl whose normal sexual life has given her these personal charms of a healthy, strong womanhood.