Puberty for girls

Bodies grow at different rates during puberty so try not to compare yourself with anyone else. The size and shape of your breasts will keep changing throughout your life. Lots of things can affect their size and shape like losing or gaining weight, pregnancy and breastfeeding. See our message boards for more breast related worries.

We're all different and have different body types so our breasts will look different too. There's no specific size or shape that breasts should be but we often wish our breasts were different.

It can be hard not to compare yourself to other people. It can also be difficult to always see women online and in movies or magazines with "perfect" looking breasts. It’s important to remember some of the women we see may have been airbrushed or had surgery to look a certain way. In real life, we are all unique. 

Find out how to feel better about how you look.

When you go through puberty you'll start to grow hair under your arms, on your private parts (pubic hair), on your legs and sometimes on other parts of your body. Most people grow pubic and body hair, some people grow more hair than others.

It’s up to you whether to remove your pubic or body hair. Have a look at the different ways to remove it if you want to.

As you go through puberty you might find that you sweat more. This is because your sweat glands change and produce more sweat to help control your body's temperature.

Keeping the areas that you sweat, like your armpits, clean and dry will help to stop any smell developing. It's important to wash, bath or shower once or twice a day, wear clean clothes and you can also wear deodorant or antiperspirant.

During puberty, most girls start having periods. It's common to experience premenstrual tension (PMT) in the week or days just before your period. If you do you might feel tired, anxious or irritable and you might have bloating, headaches and trouble sleeping. If PMT is causing you problems you can keep a diary of your symptoms and see your doctor if these self-help tips aren’t working.

You might have lots of questions like what exactly are periods, how often they happen, what they look like and what to use when you have them. Get advice and information about periods.

Discharge is a clear, white liquid. It's completely normal and it's how your vagina keeps itself clean. If the discharge is yellow or smells, or if your private parts feel itchy, you should see your doctor as you might have an infection.

You’ll usually have thicker or more discharge just before your period. It might stain your underwear so you could wear panty liners if you want to - they’re in the same section as sanitary pads and tampons in supermarkets and chemists. You might need to ask your parent or carer about money to buy sanitary products and if you feel embarrassed about choosing and buying them, you could ask a relative or friend to go with you.