Editing Marsupial (section)

===={{anchor|Female}}Females====
{{see also|Birth#Marsupials}}
[[File:Cambridge Natural History Mammalia Fig 048.png|thumb|300px|Female reproductive anatomy of several marsupial species]]
Female marsupials have two lateral [[vagina]]s, which lead to separate [[uteri]], both accessed through the same orifice.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nowak |first=Ronald M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ldXtY8ppxSQC&pg=PA14 |title=Walker's Marsupials of the World |date=2005-09-12 |publisher=JHU Press |isbn=978-0-8018-8211-1 |language=en}}</ref> A third canal, the median vagina, is used for birth. This canal can be transitory or permanent.{{sfn|Nowak|1999}} Some marsupial species [[female sperm storage|store sperm]] in the [[oviduct]] after mating.<ref name="PlantZeleznik2014">{{cite book| vauthors = Plant TM, Zeleznik AJ |title=Knobil and Neill's Physiology of Reproduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I1ACBAAAQBAJ|date=15 November 2014|publisher=Academic Press|isbn=978-0-12-397769-4}}</ref>

Marsupials give birth very early in gestation; after birth, newborns crawl up their mothers' bodies and attach themselves to a teat, which is located on the underside of the mother, either inside a pouch called the [[Pouch (marsupial)|marsupium]], or externally. Mothers often lick their fur to leave a trail of scent for the newborn to follow to increase their chances of reaching the marsupium. There they remain for several weeks. Offspring eventually leave the marsupium for short periods, returning to it for warmth, protection, and nourishment.<ref name="The Conversation">{{cite web|last1=Stannard|first1= Hayley J.|last2=Old |first2=Julie M. |title=Wallaby joeys and platypus puggles are tiny and undeveloped when born. But their mother's milk is near-magical|url=https://theconversation.com/wallaby-joeys-and-platypus-puggles-are-tiny-and-undeveloped-when-born-but-their-mothers-milk-is-near-magical-207726|publisher=The Conversation|year=2023}}</ref><ref name="Marsupial and monotreme milk – a re">{{cite journal|last1=Stannard|first1=Hayley J.|last2=Miller|first2=Robert D.|last3=Old|first3=Julie M.|title=Marsupial and monotreme milk – a review of its nutrients and immune properties|journal=PeerJ|year=2020|volume=8|page=e9335|doi=10.7717/peerj.9335 |pmid=32612884 |pmc=7319036 |doi-access=free }}</ref>