Learning about the stages of sexual development can help you become more comfortable with the changes taking place in your body. Knowing what's happening to your body and what to expect can lessen your worries. The physical changes females experience during puberty can be outlined in four stages. These stages are best thought of as guidelines since all girls do not follow the same identical pattern or develop at the same rate. Sometime between ages 8 and 11.
Hormones signal the ovaries and other internal reproductive organs to start growing.
This increases the amount of estrogen produced. Sometime between ages 9 and 15. The darker area around the nipple known as the areola and then the breasts increase in size and develop a more rounded shape. While still sparse, pubic hair, which grows between the legs, becomes darker and coarser. Body fat continues to round body contours as growth in height continues.