Welcome to Back to Basics, a new series from the Women’s Healthcast! Over the next several episodes, we will answer some of the most common questions about sexual and reproductive health and provide resources for parents and supportive adults who may want to start having these conversations with the kids in their lives.

Guest experts Dr. Ryan Luellwitz and Dr. Paula Cody will bring us back to the basics of anatomy, gender, sexuality, the menstrual cycle, safe sex, sexually transmitted infections, birth control, bodily autonomy, and so much more.

In this first episode, we tackle the basics of anatomy and puberty: Why is it so important to learn and use correct anatomical terms when we are learning about bodies, development and sexual/reproductive health? When should children learn anatomically correct terms for body parts, and what are those parts? What is puberty, and when does it typically happen? There’s a lot to cover in this conversation.

Resources shared by Dr. Cody and Dr. Luellwitz:

It’s Not the Stork – Robie Harris

What Makes a Baby – Cory Silverberg

Teaching Children with Downs Syndrome about Their Bodies, Boundaries, and Sexuality – Terri Couwenhoven

Healthychildren.org

Kidshealth.org

ACOG.org

Youngwomenshealth.org

Youngmenshealthsite.org

Have a suggestion for a future episode? Let us know what health issues you'd like to learn about here! https://forms.gle/XaoArBtnxfHxA4Up7