Meiosis

Meiosis is a kind of cell division. Cells normally divide to make more of themselves, but meiosis is special because it helps make babies! When a man and a woman make a baby, each one provides half of the baby's genetic code (the instructions for making a baby). Meiosis is how each parent gives their half of the genetic code to their baby.

First, a mom's egg and a dad's sperm must meet inside a woman's body. The mom's egg is one big cell, and the dad's sperm is a smaller cell. The mom's egg and dad's sperm each have half the genetic code needed to make a baby.

When the egg and sperm combine, the big cell starts to divide using meiosis. This creates two cells with only half the genetic code. Then these two cells combine to form a single cell known as a fertilized egg. This fertilized egg now has all the genetic code it needs to make a baby!