For some, puberty is a time when the body grows and can often prepare to make babies. Puberty happens over many years as parts of your body grow.
Gonads are often called ovaries (when they make eggs & E) and testes a.k.a. balls, testicles (when they make sperm & T). A baby is made when an egg and sperm unite near the womb.
For some people with ovaries, hormones help eggs to grow and release. If the egg doesn’t get fertilized by a sperm, something called menstruation or “a period” may occur (for more on Periods, click here).
For some people with testes, hormones help sperm to grow and release.
Many people with a DSD have gonads (like ovaries and testes) that don’t grow eggs nor release sperm. This means that some people are unable to help make a baby with their body.
Not being able to have biological children is more common than you think— as many as 1 in 7 couples have difficulties making a baby.
To make a baby, you need an egg and a sperm and a womb (a.k.a. uterus) to help it grow.
Some people don’t have gonads that have eggs or sperm and can’t make a baby. Some people don’t make eggs or sperm but do have a small womb that might be used to carry a baby (for example, some women with Swyer’s Syndrome.)
It just depends.