Life After Puberty

What's Happening to My Body?

Hormonal Changes

During puberty you will probably grow about 4 inches per year. Your voice will change and might become deeper, pubic hair will grow thicker, and your skin is changing and you may get some pimples. These changes are all caused by your hormones, which are chemicals in your body that cause it to change. As you move through puberty, these chemicals will eventually make it possible for you to father or mother a child.

Hormonal changes kick in when your pituitary gland gives the go-ahead to your sex glands (ovaries for girls, testicles for boys). Your sex glands then make hormones and send them to other parts of your body, causing all the changes of puberty. A man's main hormone is called testosterone, produced in the testicles, and a woman's main hormones are called estrogen and progesterone, produced in the ovaries. These hormones are the reason why there are physical and emotional changes during puberty.

Last Modified: September 5, 2006