The Birds and the Beavs is a weekly column answering your questions on the topics of sexual health, consent, and relationships, written by the Oregon State University Sexual Health Team.

Student Health Services: Prevention and Wellness and the Sexual Health Team wishes all OSU moms a Happy Mother’s Day! In honor of Mother’s Day we thought we would give some awesome facts about pregnancy and mother’s health!

1.Did you know that the uterus is about the size of an orange? During pregnancy, the uterus can grow up 500 times its normal to the size of a watermelon. However, since the uterus is elastic, it will return back to its pre-pregnancy size! Isn’t the human body amazing?

2.A female’s ovum, or egg is the largest cell in the human body! The ovum cell measures at about 120 micrometers in diameter, which is about the size of a pencil dot. Comparatively,  a red blood cell is about 8 micrometers in diameter!

3.At birth, women have 1-2 million eggs, but only 300,000 eggs are left by the time puberty hits. Only 300 to 400 of these eggs will be ovulated before menopause. Congrats!– You were one of those eggs!

4.Last year, 3,853,472 babies were born in the United States. That means that there were around 60 births per every 1,000 women ages 15 to 44 years. 

5.The word placenta translates to “cake” in Latin due to the flat round shape of the placenta. The placenta is an organ that develops in your uterus during pregnancy. This structure provides oxygen and nutrients to your growing baby and removes waste products from your baby’s blood. 

OSU is proud to have a diverse student body that includes families. Our clinicians at Student Health Services can provide accurate diagnosis through a combination of examination and laboratory testing. When a pregnancy is confirmed, all options are made available to you. 

SHS does not provide prenatal or pregnancy-related services. Your clinician can help you find these services outside of SHS and will refer you appropriately. Pregnant students may continue to take advantage of all available healthcare services unrelated to the pregnancy, including nutrition counseling.

Oregon State University also has the Family Resource Center located at the Champinefu Lodge. They are an amazing resource that advocates for and provides quality programming and services to all OSU families with dependent care needs to support the academic, professional and personal growth and success of the whole person. Fore more information you can visit their website at here.