THE BEGINNINGS OF LIFE

     Before the egg cell furnished by the ovary can develop into a child, it must be fertilized by the sperm or male germ cell which is furnished by the sex organs of the man.

     The union of male and female germ cells is necessary in most forms of plant and animal life to produce new life.  The male cell in the pollen of the flower must unite with the female cell which lies at the base of the flower before a seed containing the life of a new plant will develop.  This union o male and female cells is called fertilization.  The egg of the hen must be fertilized with the hen's body by the sperm of the rooster fi the egg which is laid is to contain the life of a baby chick.

     Among animals such as the rabbit, the cat, the dog, and the horse, and man, the sperm or male germ cells are placed in the body of the female by the sex organ of the male and union with the egg takes place within the reproductive organs of the female.  The fertilized egg then develops in the uterus of the mother.

     With the human mother, the child grows in the uterus of the mother for nine months, fed by nourishment from her blood, warmed and protected within the body.  The muscles of the uterus then contract, and the child comes down the vagina into the outer world.  At that time the child has developed to the point where he can breathe for himself and take the milk furnished by special glands in the breast of the mother.  The uterus of the mother returns normal size within a few days after the birth of the child.  Afterward she should have even greater vigor and better health for the experience.