Title: The Story of Menstruation
Summary: A basic explanation of the purpose and process of menstruation, told largely with diagrams (and completely avoiding the subject of sex).
Directed by: Jack Kinney
Production Company: Walt Disney Productions
Release Date: 18 October 1946 (USA)
Aspect Ratio: 1.37 : 1
The story of menstruation begins, as the motherly narrator informs us, with the pituitary gland - a gland at the base of the brain that sends hormones throughout the bloodstream that order growth. When a girl reaches an age somewhere between 11 and 17 - the average is 13 - the pituitary gland sends maturing orders to the ovaries, which in turn order the uterus to create a thickened lining, filled with watery fluids and blood. If an egg is fertilized it will remain within that thickened lining for nourishment. But if the egg is not fertilized, the body has no use for the extra nourishment, and it passes out of the body - which is the process called menstruation. The narrator proceeds to disprove taboos against bathing or exercise during menstruation. She advises that girls should keep a calendar that keeps track of the number days between periods. And she notes how good posture, healthy foods and positive attitudes can affect the menstruation cycle.
Summary: A basic explanation of the purpose and process of menstruation, told largely with diagrams (and completely avoiding the subject of sex).
Directed by: Jack Kinney
Production Company: Walt Disney Productions
Release Date: 18 October 1946 (USA)
Aspect Ratio: 1.37 : 1
The story of menstruation begins, as the motherly narrator informs us, with the pituitary gland - a gland at the base of the brain that sends hormones throughout the bloodstream that order growth. When a girl reaches an age somewhere between 11 and 17 - the average is 13 - the pituitary gland sends maturing orders to the ovaries, which in turn order the uterus to create a thickened lining, filled with watery fluids and blood. If an egg is fertilized it will remain within that thickened lining for nourishment. But if the egg is not fertilized, the body has no use for the extra nourishment, and it passes out of the body - which is the process called menstruation. The narrator proceeds to disprove taboos against bathing or exercise during menstruation. She advises that girls should keep a calendar that keeps track of the number days between periods. And she notes how good posture, healthy foods and positive attitudes can affect the menstruation cycle.
Category
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TVTranscripción
00:00♪
00:28Why is nature always called Mother Nature?
00:32Perhaps it's because, like any mother,
00:34she quietly manages so much of our living
00:38without our ever realizing there's a woman at work.
00:42Why, right from the beginning, we breathe and sleep
00:46and wake up with no more conscious planning
00:48than we used in sprouting teeth.
00:51Mother Nature controls many of our routine bodily processes
00:55through automatic control centers called glands.
01:00The story of menstruation really begins with one particular gland.
01:04It's located here at the base of the brain
01:07and it's called a pituitary gland.
01:10In our childhood years, this pituitary gland concentrates
01:14on producing growth hormones.
01:16Busy little messengers which circulate through the bloodstream.
01:20They order the various bones and tissues to get growing.
01:24And as a girl grows up from blocks to dolls to books,
01:29that means her body is obeying the orders
01:31issued by the pituitary gland.
01:34Of course, these orders vary among different girls.
01:37Some girls grow short, some tall, some heavy, and some slight.
01:44But there comes a time somewhere between the ages of 11 and 17,
01:49though about 13 is average,
01:51when the pituitary must turn part of its attention
01:54to maturing the body which it has grown.
01:58So it starts sending out a new type of hormone,
02:01a maturing hormone.
02:03And that is when menstruation begins,
02:06when these maturing hormones start coming down
02:09through the bloodstream to the ovaries.
02:15The ovaries themselves are glands about the size of almonds
02:19and locked within each ovary are thousands of eggs.
02:23Although these eggs are too small to be seen by the human eye,
02:27any one of them has the possibility
02:29of someday becoming a human being.
02:33Near the ovaries are the fallopian tubes,
02:36short canals which lead to the uterus or womb.
02:40This hollow, pear-shaped organ opens into the vagina,
02:45which is part of the birth canal,
02:47and is the external opening for this whole group of organs.
02:51So as you see, there is a continuous passage from each ovary
02:56through the fallopian tubes, uterus, and vagina
03:00to the outside of the body.
03:03These organs function in a continuous cycle.
03:06The pituitary gland starts the process
03:09when it sends its maturing hormones
03:11down through the bloodstream to the ovaries.
03:15Now one of the ovaries passes on an order of its own to the uterus.
03:20It tells the cells which make up the lining of the uterus
03:23to multiply and fill themselves with watery fluids and blood.
03:29This begins to build up a thickened lining
03:31of somewhat velvety material.
03:34At the same time, an ovary has been maturing an ovum or egg,
03:39which is magnified here so that we can see it.
03:43About once a month, one of these tiny eggs passes out of the ovary
03:47and finds its way into a fallopian tube,
03:50where it moves along toward the uterus.
03:54If the egg is impregnated,
03:56which happens when a woman is going to have a child,
03:59the egg will stay within the uterus.
04:02Then the thickened lining will provide nourishment
04:05for the budding human being through the early days of its development.
04:10However, most eggs pass through the fallopian tubes without being fertilized.
04:15When this happens, there's no use for that potential nourishment
04:19in the built-up lining of the uterus.
04:22And so in a few days it passes from the body.
04:26This is the flow which we call menstruation.
04:30So as we see now, menstruation is just one routine step
04:34in a normal and natural cycle that is going on continuously
04:39within the body.
04:45The time between periods is usually about 28 days.
04:50However, it may be shorter for some girls and longer for others.
04:54The flow itself may last anywhere from three days to seven.
04:59Yet each of these different schedules may be normal.
05:02For just as the pituitary gland orders some girls to grow short,
05:07some tall, some heavy, and some slight,
05:10so its orders about menstruation may differ widely among normal women.
05:14The important thing is that you should be fairly regular within yourself.
05:21Of course, a girl may be irregular during the first year or so,
05:25but after that, when her system is settled down into a routine,
05:30her period should always be about the same number of days apart
05:34and last about the same length of time.
05:38Try not to throw yourself off schedule by getting overtired,
05:42emotionally upset, or catching cold.
05:45And if your timing goes seriously wrong
05:48or you're bothered with severe cramps or headaches,
05:51you should have a talk with your doctor.
05:54Of course you'll want to keep a personal calendar.
05:57Mark the first day of each period
06:00and check to see that there are about the same number of days between periods.
06:05It's not only a useful record of past performance,
06:09but it comes in handy when you have to plan ahead.
06:13This calendar appears in an interesting booklet called Very Personally Yours.
06:19This booklet has been prepared to enlarge upon what you learn from this brief film.
06:24Among other things,
06:26the booklet explodes that old taboo against bathing during your period.
06:31Not only can you bathe, you should bathe.
06:34Because during menstruation, your perspiration glands are working overtime.
06:40Just be careful to avoid either very hot water or very cold water.
06:46In fact, it's not a good idea at any time to shock your system with extremes,
06:52any more than to let yourself get chilled or to catch cold.
06:57And as for the old taboo against exercise, that's nonsense.
07:02Exercise is good for you during menstruation.
07:05Just use common sense.
07:09When you come to think of it, most of your daily routine is on the mild side.
07:14It's going to extremes that's wrong and to be avoided.
07:20To most girls, the menstrual period should bring no severe discomfort.
07:25Some girls have a little less pep, a feeling of pressure in the lower part of the body,
07:30perhaps an occasional twinge or a touch of nerves.
07:34But don't let it get you down.
07:36After all, no matter how you feel, you have to live with people.
07:41You have to live with yourself too.
07:44And once you stop feeling sorry for yourself and take those days in your stride,
07:50you'll find it's easier to keep smiling and even-tempered.
07:54You can do practically everything you normally do.
08:00Oh, come now, we said practically everything,
08:04provided you take common sense care of yourself.
08:09Exercises to relieve cramps are illustrated in the booklet.
08:13Try them with the guidance of a qualified person.
08:16You may find they help.
08:19And do something about that slouch.
08:22Slumpy posture is just as bad inside as it looks outside.
08:27So stand up straight and let the organs function from the position that nature intended.
08:34One way to help them function normally is to avoid constipation.
08:39You see, your reproductive organs lie between the rectum and the bladder and their external openings.
08:46And constipation will disturb the relationship between these organs.
08:52So you'll find it worth your while to drink plenty of water, eat plenty of fruit,
08:57and to include cereals and eggs and leafy vegetables in your daily diet.
09:04And incidentally, it's smart to keep looking smart.
09:08That well-groomed feeling will give you new poise and lift your morale,
09:13especially when it's backed up with year-round fresh air and sunshine and plenty of rest and sleep.
09:21Because the best possible insurance against trouble on those days is healthy living every day.
09:30And that's the story.
09:32There's nothing strange nor mysterious about menstruation.
09:36All life is built on cycles.
09:39And the menstrual cycle is one normal and natural part of nature's eternal plan for passing on the gift of life.
09:49♪♪