Human Reproduction
All living things reproduce, or create offspring. Animals’ offspring are often called babies. The body parts that allow animals to create babies belong to the reproductive system.
Types of Reproduction
Some animals can create offspring through asexual reproduction. This means that one animal creates offspring on its own. For example, corals, hydras, and starfish can reproduce through a process called budding. In budding, a growth called a bud breaks off from the animal to make a new animal.
Most animals use sexual reproduction to have babies. This means that two sex cells, one from a male and one from a female, join together to create a baby. In some animals, including many types of fish, the male and female sex cells join together in water, outside the female’s body. In other animals the sex cells join together inside the female’s body.
After the sex cells join they grow into a baby. The babies of most mammals develop inside the female’s body. Like other mammals, humans reproduce sexually. A woman’s body supports a baby as it grows. For these reasons men and women have different reproductive organs.
Puberty
