MOTHER’S FIRST TALK--THE FEMALE FORM
You have been told God’s plans in bringing all the little fish, plants,
birds, animals and human babies into the world. You have enjoyed all
these stories. We have not gone into detail in these talks. When you are
older, if you desire you can study the laws of life more thoroughly. We
have tried to satisfy your inquiring mind and lead you to see that God’s
laws of increasing life are pure and sacred.
=All these years you have been a little girl.= You have been growing
larger and wiser all the time. You have worn short dresses, loved your
dolls, played with little boys and girls; you have been innocent, free
from care, jolly and happy. You will be a girl for several years to
come. You should not be in a hurry to get away from the joys, pleasures,
and ways of girlhood. However, God has not planned for you to be a girl
always. He has wisely planned for you to grow and change in body and
mind, from a girl into a woman, that you may some day be a mother.
=A review.=--In previous talks we found that every little baby plant and
animal had a father and a mother. We found that the pollen produced by
the small organs of the flower had to unite with the seed formed by the
mother organs, before a little plant could come into the world. We found
among the animals that little eggs were formed by organs in the mother’s
body, called ovaries, just as seed are formed by ovaries in the flowers.
We also found that these little eggs formed by the mother organs could
not become baby animals without the union of a life-giving substance
from the father animals. In the higher animals, where the mother nurses
her young with milk formed by the mother’s breasts, we find many
resemblances to the lower animals, with some very interesting additions
to the reproductive organs.
Among some of the lower animals, such, for example, as mussels and fish,
no provision is made to nourish and feed their young; some, such as the
bee, store up food in cells; while still others, such as the bird,
provide food for the young for some days after they are hatched.
=Mothers of the higher animals and man.=--In the higher animals, the
mother supplies her young with food for weeks or months after they are
born, by means of organs called breasts or udders. These organs are not
found among the lower animals. They are vitally associated with, and
therefore a part of, the female organs of sex of the higher animals and
man.
=How mothers in the lower and higher forms of life differ.=--Among the
higher animals, the eggs are formed by ovaries, just as in the case of
plants and the lower animals. Here we find another important addition to
the female organs of sex. As soon as the egg is formed by the ovary it
passes, by means of a duct called the fallopian tube, into a pear-shaped
vessel called the uterus, or womb. Here, if the egg is fertilized by the
male substance, it becomes attached to the wall of the womb. At this
point of the womb, a cord is formed, containing a vein and artery,
called the placenta. The placenta connects with the body of the young at
a point called the navel. The forming young receives its air, food, and
life through the cord from the mother’s blood.
There is a very close resemblance between the creative organs and their
functions in the higher animals and man. We could not become fathers and
mothers without these special organs of sex.
=The essential female organs of sex.=--These consist of ovaries, oviducts,
womb, vagina and breasts. All these organs, except the breasts, are on
the inside of the body--in the lower part of the abdomen.
In a mature woman the (1) ovaries, two in number, are small
almond-shaped glands just below the navel and are four or five inches
apart, one located in the left side of the body and the other in the
right. The ovaries are enveloped in a broad, thin, strong membrane and
connect with the upper part of the (2) womb by slender cords called (3)
oviducts.
[Illustration]
=Location and function of the ovaries.=--There takes place in every girl,
when she is from twelve to fifteen, a remarkable change, called puberty,
or adolescence. From this time on, until she is forty to forty-five
years old, there will be formed in one of the ovaries every four weeks a
tiny egg, or ovum. The ovum is less than 1/120 of an inch in diameter.
When this little egg breaks through the membrane of the ovary, it would
drop down into the cavity of the body were it not for a most wonderful
provision. The oviducts, or, as they are often called, the fallopian
tubes, are ducts connected with the upper part of the womb, are three
inches in length and have finger-like ends. When the little egg breaks
through the membrane of the ovary, the little fingers of the oviducts
close about the ovary and receive the little egg which then enters the
tiny mouth of the oviduct and is conveyed through its small cavity to
the womb.
=The location and function of the womb and vagina.=--The womb, or uterus,
is located midway between the ovaries on the right and left, and between
the bladder in front and the rectum behind. The ovaries and the womb are
supported near the center of the abdomen by means of cords and muscles
stretched across from the walls of the abdomen. The womb is a
pear-shaped muscular organ with the small end pointing downward, and in
a matured woman is three inches in length, two inches in width and with
walls one-half inch thick. The cavity of the womb is small and has three
openings, two near the top leading into the oviducts and one at the
bottom opening into the (4) vagina. It will be seen from the cut that
the lower end of the womb dips into the upper end of the vagina about
one inch. This part of the womb is called the (5) os uteri, or mouth of
the womb. The vagina in a grown woman is from four to six inches in
length, of firm but very elastic tissue. It aids in holding the womb in
position, serves as a passageway for the menstrual fluid to pass from
the body, and has other purposes that will be mentioned in another
chapter.
=The breasts.=--The form and position of the (6) breasts, or mammary
glands, being known to you, it is not necessary for me to describe them
here. Through the nerves they are closely related to the other sexual
organs. With the approach of puberty they make considerable growth.
However, it is not common for a girl’s breasts to develop to any
considerable size before she is married. When she becomes a mother, the
hundreds of tiny glands in her breasts form milk from her blood with
which to nourish her child.
=The creative energy.=--From the dawning of puberty, all through life, day
and night, asleep and awake, the breasts and other sexual organs are
generating an energy that is being distributed throughout her entire
being. It is this energy that helps to develop the girl into perfect
womanhood. If the breasts and ovaries of a small girl could be
painlessly and skillfully removed without injury to any part of her
body, she would not develop into perfect womanhood in other respects.
This experiment proves that these organs are secreting an energy that is
necessary in developing and maintaining an ideal womanhood.
=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.