The legendary Frank Olise of the NTA fame, used to ask rhetorically at the beginning of each of his presentation and programme: “Do you know where your children are?”
One day a very tenacious woman, pinned him down and wanted him to explain why he was asking the question. Frank Olise confessed that he was more interested in the girl-child, noting that in the majority of cases the boy-child could fend for himself.
As a doctor, working in an institution, I am confronted by students who are 15, 16, 17 or 18 years old on admission, most of them from very conservative and restricted families, who are not streetwise. So they know next to nothing about the changes going on in their bodies, in spite of their internet exposure.
Most of them read my Doctor Sun column weekly, so from the feedback, I get questions like menstrual pain and its duration, puberty etc.
We know that the bridge between childhood and adulthood is a period of growth and change called puberty. There seems to be no standard pattern for the physical changes of puberty.
Two boys of the same age, who have been nearly identical throughout childhood may appear to set off along different paths of physical development as they enter the teenage years. One may quickly shoot up to a height of 5ft 8ins, within a couple of years, while his companion lags for a while at preteen size, then begins growing into a 6 – footer. One may develop a heavy beard in his early JSS Class years, while the other boy will have no use for a clipper, until he is in the university. However, both boys are normal youngsters, and each will eventually attain all of the physical attributes of adulthood.
Similarly, one girl may begin menstruating in her 11th year, while a classmate will not experience her first menstruation until she is 16. One girl may need bra while still in JSS, but her friend will fret about her small bust line for many years. But both girls, each look forward to normal womanhood. Each has an individual pattern of development, and if there is any rule of thumb about puberty, it is that each youngster has his or her own time schedule for the transformation.
I have had to psychologically counsel a lot of young girls, who will secretly come to the hospital to complain of their stunted development, using their room mates who claim to be their age mates at 15, 16 or 17.
One told me she did not think her class mate was 16 as she claimed, because she said she started wearing bra in JSS. Let me also advise parents, guardians, grandmothers and elder sisters to discuss and advise their pre-puberty damsels, who may be psychologically devastated, when they observe that their so-called age mates are better endowed, there by attracting more male attention.
The physical changes that occur in the female body during puberty, probably are more dramatic than those associated with boys progressing into manhood. One definite milestone for the girl is her first menstruation, commonly regarded as the first sign of puberty.
Actually, the first menstruation, known as “the menarche”, is only one of several signs of puberty, which include:
• Slimming of the waist.
• Gradual broadening of the hips.
• The development of breasts.
• The appearance of hair around the genitals and armpits
• Acceleration in the rate of growth.
The age at which a girl first experiences menstruation generally varies over a period of 10 years, and depends upon the structural development of the youngster, her physical condition, the environment, and hereditary factors.
Menarche can occur as early as 7, and most gynaecologists would not be overly concerned, if a girl did not begin to menstruate until she was approaching 17.
The age range nine to 16 years usually is considered normal. The median age for the start of menstruation is around 13 and a half years, which means that 50 percent of all females are younger than 13 and a half years when they reach menarche, and half are on the older side of that age when they first menstruate.
In general, the pubertal experiences of a girl, follow a pattern like that of her mother and sisters. If the mother began menstruating at an early age, the chances are that her daughters will also.
If the girl has not reached the menarche by the age of 18, she should be examined by a gynaecologist. A medical examination also should be arranged for any girl who experiences menstruation before she reaches eight or nine years.
When menarche occurs on the early side of childhood, the condition is sometimes called “precocious puberty.“ The child may suddenly begin menstruating, before her mother has told her what to expect, a situation that can prove embarrassing to both child and parents. It may first be detected by a teacher at school, occasionally, a young girl may be aware of bleeding from the vaginas but because of fear or false modesty, does not report the event to her mother or teacher. For this reason, parents should be alert for changes associated with early puberty, and be prepared to explain the facts of life to their children.
Also, in the case of precocious puberty, parents should arrange for medical consultation with a gynaecologist, to be certain the bleeding actually is the result of first menstruation and not the effects of an injury or tumor.
During a year or two preceding the menarche, there is a growth spurt of two to three inches. This is because of the hormonal changes associated with puberty.
The hormones are chemical messengers secreted by glands in various parts of the body, especially the growth hormone that is produced by the pituitary gland, and androgen, a hormone secreted by the adrenal gland. They produce rapid growth of bones and muscles during puberty.
The girl who is first among her classmates to menstruate, is often larger than those who are of same age, but have not yet reached menarche.
From numerous research studies of the menarche, it has been learned that poor nutrition and psychological stress, sometimes delay the onset of menstruation, that girls reared in cities tend to menstruate earlier, and the climate is a factor although both tropical and temperate climates seem to be related to early menarche.
The first menstrual periods also are likely to occur during the school year – usually during hot weather, rather than during harmattan.
Always be medically guided.
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