What Does Your 15+ Son Know About A Girl’s Menstrual Cycle?
—This is the time to learn about fertilization
—The biology is simple to understand
—The reproductive system wants fertilization to happen
If your son is in that 15+ age group, how much does he know about a girl’s menstrual cycle? He might have heard something about it in a biology or health class, but did he get it? I taught entering medical students throughout my professional career as a medical school professor, and I was surprised every year when I realized how little the men knew about the biology of a girl’s reproductive system.
As you know, I am on a mission to make sure that our young teens understand basic information that explains how fertilization happens. They might have an idea about the basics, but does your son know that there is more than one day when it can occur. In a 28 day menstrual cycle, ovulation happens on about day 14. An egg is released from an ovary and enters a fallopian tube. The egg only waits one day for sperm to arrive before it moves on to the uterus. That sounds good because it would mean that there is only one day in the menstrual cycle that fertilization can happen. This is what most teen boys understand. It sounds like low risk to them, but it is far from that.
But that is only part of the story. If intercourse happens any of about five days before or on the day of ovulation, sperm can wait in the fallopian tube for the egg to arrive. After ovulation, the egg waits in the fallopian tube for sperm. So if intercourse happens on that day, sperm will still be there in time to join with the egg. In all, there are several days in sequence when fertilization can happen. Remember, the purpose of the reproductive system is to produce babies so it is designed to make sure this happens.
It seems to me that this is one topic that deserves very special attention in your home. We cannot just assume your son understands the risks of a one night experience. Because I understand that it might not be comfortable for you to have this conversation with your son, I have prepared all of the information for you. I have an entire book called “I’m a Boy, Sexual Maturity” available on Amazon. If that is too much, you can go to the link at the end of this post. It will take you to a piece of the book that talks about fertilization. You can download it immediately. Just leave it for your son to look through.
I think it is best not to assume your son knows this information. Let’s work together to give him the best possible information that could make a huge difference in his choices in the future.
—Dr. M
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