Sex Hormones

For a certain time after they are born, male and female children resemble one another. But after years, differences begin to emerge in the bodies of each. A beard appears in males, their voices deepen, their shoulders widen, and they come to have the typical features of the male body. Girls begin to take on the typical female form. Two bodies that resembled each other closely, except for the sex organs, take on quite a different appearance after the secretion of the sex hormones in adolescence.

What brings about the change in male and female bodies are the sex hormones that God has created in a highly organized manner.

The main sex hormone in the male is testosterone; in the female, they are estrogen and progesterone. When we look at the mechanisms by which these hormones are secreted, we meet a few other wonders of creation.

Sex hormones are secreted in the male testes and in the female ovaries. But the system that ensures this secretion is located very distantly from these organs, in the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus area.

Many years from the time of birth pass before the sex hormones go into action. But when the right time comes, when the child has reached the age of adolescence, the hypothalamus sends a command (the GnRH hormone) to the pituitary gland. The fact that the hypothalamus does not make a mistake in timing (unless damaged) is remarkable. How can a small piece of flesh take account of days, months and years without a calendar (or more precisely, without the conscious intelligence required to understand a calendar) and do everything with perfect timing? This fact is a proof that the hypothalamus has been designed by God in a way to properly affect this timing.

After receiving the command, the pituitary gland secretes two hormones, LH and FSH. The target areas of these hormones are the female ovaries and the male testes. These hormones give a command to these organs to "go into action" after years of being inactive.

The testes and the ovaries then begin to produce the sex cells proper to males and females and to secrete the sex hormones. The LH and FSH hormones in men and women have the same molecular structure, yet each is responsible for different processes in the male and female bodies.

In the section entitled "Hormones That Are Able to Regulate Time and Produce the Differences between the Sexes" we examined the wonder that these hormones have different effects and that they wait years to be secreted.

Now, let us examine how the male and female reproductive systems develop and see what kind of system God has created for each new human being that has come into the world.

The Female Reproductive System

Sex hormones give shape to the male and female bodies with the expertise of a sculptor.

The most important organ in the female reproductive system is the ovary, each of which weighs between 10-20 grams. The ovaries make the egg cell that is half of the newborn person. (The other half is the sperm cell that comes from the male body.)

Another function of the ovaries is to produce sex hormones. This is a very important function because these hormones make a child's body a woman. This function resembles a sculptor making a statue, but the hormones are not outside the body as the statue is outside the sculptor's body, rather, (in the case of the hormones) the statue is formed inside the body.

The sex hormones produced in the female body, for instance, cause the pelvis bones become wider because during pregnancy, it will make the needed room for the baby in the mother's womb.36

How do these cells that produce the female hormones know that the woman may later get pregnant? If they had this knowledge, how will they tell the cells which form the pelvis bone how much they must multiply to widen the proper amount? How do they know the right size for the pelvis bone?

Moreover, in women, the accumulation of fat in the hips and thighs is again physically the result of the influence of estrogen. In a male child, it is not fat that increases in the developmental stage, but the striated muscle mass. In women, the increase in the amount of fat is specially adjusted to store the energy that will be needed for the time of pregnancy and milk production. 37

The sex hormones cause the development of a high voice in women and low voice in men.38 How do the hormone molecules know the difference between a male and a female voice? How is it that they can decide that a male voice has to be low and a female voice high? And how do hormones, with the same formula, produce a high voice in women and a low voice in men?

It is a demonstration of great wisdom that female hormones are not secreted until a particular age. Female hormones come into play when the female body is mentally and physically mature; that is, when the time comes when it can carry a baby, and it has the intelligence and maturity to bring it up.39 This arrangement is certainly another proof that human beings have been created according to a definite plan.

A Four Week Period of Life

Every four weeks in the body of a healthy woman, a comprehensive preparation occurs. This preparation is brought about by cells in the woman's body in order to bring a new human being into the world.

Ovaries produced by female sex hormones.

As a mother considers her child's every need, its health and development and makes long-term plans for it, the cells that make up the mother's reproductive organs show the same degree of care for the egg cells. In order to ensure the fertilization of the egg cell, they carry out long-term plans, and the most important factors affecting this plan are hormones.

Just before this four-week period, the pituitary gland secretes the LH hormone. After this hormone leaves the skull, it sets out on its long journey via the blood stream and reaches the ovaries. Now the time has come for the ovaries to go into action.

Inside the ovaries are thousands of immature egg cells. Under the influence of the LH hormone from the pituitary gland, part of these egg cells begins to mature. Normally, only one of these developing cells will fully mature and be released from the ovary as an egg cell. (If two cells are released and each one is fertilized, twins will be born)

The egg cell in process of development with its surrounding nutritive layers is called a "follicle." The FSH hormone sent by the pituitary gland has a major effect on the follicle, suddenly causing it to produce a special molecule. This molecule is the estrogen hormone.

How is it that the follicle, which is itself not fully developed, has begun to produce a hormone? What is the purpose of this production? The answers to these questions bring us to another proof of creation.

The estrogen produced by the follicle shows once again the wonder of creation. Let us look briefly at its functions:

1. One of the targets of the estrogen hormone is the "uterus." This is where the fertilized egg will lodge, multiply and grow. The influence of estrogen causes the uterus to prepare for pregnancy; its wall increases 3-4 times in thickness and is surrounded by capillary vessels. If fertilization occurs, these vessels will supply the required nutrients.

This is a wonder because the still developing follicle cannot consider the future of the cell inside it, yet it takes the required measures needed for the future nutritional needs of the egg. It also ensures that preparations are made in the uterus where the egg will be protected.

After releasing the egg, how does the follicle know that it will reach the uterus and lodge there? How does it know that capillary vessels in the uterus will provide nutrients for the egg cell? From whom did it learn the formula for causing an increase in the number of capillary vessels?

2. Under the influence of estrogen, the muscles in the uterus begin to develop and their strength increases. This is a measure taken to protect the place where the egg will lodge in case of fertilization.40

3. The growth in the women's breasts during the time of development is closely connected to the influence of estrogen. Estrogen increases the accumulation of fat in the breasts and, at the same time, ensures the multiplication of milk glands.41 All these preparations ensure that the baby will be fed by the mother.

4. The construction of other parts particular to a woman's body also happens as a result of the influence of estrogen. Of interest is the fact that estrogen causes growth in a woman's breasts but never goes to produce growth in the shoulder area except in extraordinary cases (which would give a woman a masculine appearance).

Estrogen also produces the high pitched woman's voice instead of a male voice. It knows what kind of voice needs to be produced and it knows how to make a woman's voice. The sculptor that forms the special features of the woman's body is "estrogen."

A sperm—the male reproductive cell.

5. At the same time, estrogen facilitates fertilization. At the end of the second week, when it is the best time to fertilize the egg, the amount of estrogen in the blood rises significantly. This results in the secretion of a special fluid from the uterus to the vagina. This fluid captures the male reproductive cells, the sperm, within itself and carries them upward. It increases the activity of the sperm and carries them towards the egg cell.

6. Unless special measures are taken, the mother's womb is a highly septic environment. This presents a serious threat to the health of the mother and the unborn baby. Estrogen ensures that this threat is eliminated. When estrogen molecules reach the epithelial cells in the mother's womb, these cells begin to secrete an acid. This acidic environment is a suitable environment for the multiplication of beneficial bacteria (Döderlein's bacillus) and, at the same time, it protects the vagina from infections.42

The chemical molecule produced by a tiny follicle not only gives shape to a human body from head to toe, but also makes the required arrangements for a new human to be born. However, estrogen is a lifeless material that is formed from the arrangement of atoms. It is produced by unconscious cells and it affects other unconscious cells. But all of these operations happen in the context of a wonderful and flawless plan, at the end of which a boy or a girl is born. The intelligence that creates this human being belongs to God.

O mankind! Heed your Lord Who created you from a single self and created its mate from it and then disseminated many men and women from the two of them. Heed God in Whose name you make demands on one another and also in respect of your families. God watches over you continually. (Qur'an, 4: 1)

36 Intimate Universe, British Broadcasting Corporation - The Learning Channel Co-Production Video, 1998
37 Rasyonel Tedavi Yonunden Tibbi Farmakoloji (Medical Pharmacology According to Rational Treatment), p. 2751
38 Rasyonel Tedavi Yonunden Tibbi Farmakoloji (Medical Pharmacology According to Rational Treatment), p. 2723
39 Ic Hastaliklari (Internal Diseases), p. 369
40 Rasyonel Tedavi Yonunden Tibbi Farmakoloji (Medical Pharmacology According to Rational Treatment), p. 2750
41 Rasyonel Tedavi Yonunden Tibbi Farmakoloji (Medical Pharmacology According to Rational Treatment), p. 2750
42 Rasyonel Tedavi Yonunden Tibbi Farmakoloji (Medical Pharmacology According to Rational Treatment), p. 2750