Hesperian Health Guides
Chapter 4: Our Reproductive Bodies
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 hip bones
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You can feel your hip bones just below your waist. They are part of the pelvis. The pelvic area is everything between the hips. This is where the parts of the reproductive system are. |
The parts of the body that make up our reproductive systems are the parts that allow us to make babies In many places, these parts of the body are considered âprivateâ or not polite to talk about with others Talking about these parts of our bodies can be difficult for anyone, and more difficult for people who are shy, who do not know what specific parts of the body are called, or who have reason to feel threatened or marginalized.
No one should feel ashamed of any part of his or her body.
Knowing how our bodies work means we can take better care of ourselves We can recognize problems and their causes and make our own decisions about what to do about them The more we know, the more we will be able to decide for ourselves if the advice that others give us is helpful or harmful.
Since different communities may have a variety of words for different parts of the body, we try to use medical or scientific names in this book We hope this makes it possible for people from many different regions of the world to understand this information Pay attention to the words people in your community use to talk about their bodies, and use this same language with them.