What is Ovulation?

Written by: Olivia Wallace

Ovulation is a part of a woman's reproductive cycle in which an egg is released by a mature ovarian follicle in order to travel down the fallopian tubes towards the uterus. Understanding the process of ovulation and your particular reproductive cycle can help you plan your pregnancy more effectively.

The first part of ovulation is the follicular phase, which takes place from the first day of a woman's period to her next ovulation. The process by which an ovarian follicle matures actually takes a little over a year — your body is constantly preparing eggs for ovulation. During this process, the brain's hypothalamus produces two hormones: luteinizing hormone (LH) and the follicle stimulating hormone. These hormones prepare the follicle and stimulate it to release the egg when it is mature. Once ovulation has occurred, the process shifts to the luteal phase, which continues until the next menstruation.

A woman is most fertile for the few days leading up to and day of ovulation, so it is crucial that she knows when she is ovulating to plan intercourse. Or, if she's using natural family planning, it is important to know when ovulation occurs to avoid intercourse. It is different for every woman, but this typically occurs on day 14 of the average menstrual cycle, which is 28 days. Most women will ovulate somewhere from the 10th to the 19th day of their menstrual cycle. Ovulation is typically earlier for women with shorter cycles, and later for women with longer cycles.

Your body will give you several clues that you are getting closer to ovulation. The cervix secretes more mucus — which results in increased discharge — you'll have a rise in basal body temperature (BBT), and some women experience what is called mittelschmerz, which is a slight tinge of pain when ovulation occurs. Most women will release only one egg, although age, hereditary and pure luck may contribute to the release of more than one egg. Since an egg only lives about 12 to 24 hours after ovulation, your timing has to be perfect.

If you're trying to get pregnant, there are several tools at your disposal to help you track your ovulation. Some, such as the BBT method or ovulation calendar may require daily tracking on your part. Others, such as an ovulation predictor kit which you can get from your doctor, online or at the drugstore simply require testing of your urine at specific times of the month. Stress, illness, maternal age, hereditary factors, STDs, or infection may interfere with your normal ovulation, so if you feel like your cycle is off or difficult to track, be sure to consult with your doctor. Women who aren't ovulating, ovulate erratically or ovulate without a period may need medical assistance to get pregnant.

Source: http://www.pregnancyetc.com/what-is-ovulation.htm

Conception Symptoms and Tips for Those Trying To Conceive

Written by: Olivia Wallace

Getting Pregnant

Conceiving a baby remains one of the most sought after events in many couples' lives. For some, getting pregnant happens relatively easily, but for others, conception remains elusive — surprisingly, couples only have a 20% chance of getting pregnant each cycle. You may find that the "magic" of creating a life may require a little more "business" than you anticipated. The key to conceiving is proper timing, and achieving that timing requires attention to detail and tracking the changes your body undergoes each menstrual cycle.

Knowing Your Menstrual Cycle

The first step in getting pregnant is knowing your menstrual cycle. Each woman's cycle is different, but the average ranges from 28 to 32 days. If you have a typical cycle, ovulation will take place approximately 11 to 21 days after the first day of menstruating. Women who have shorter cycles will typically ovulate earlier, and women who have longer cycles will ovulate later. Start tracking your periods on a calendar by noting the first day of your period and counting the days until the first day of your next period.

Ovulation

Once you know your menstrual cycle, you can turn your focus to when you ovulate. The first of two parts of the ovulation cycle begins with the follicular phase, which starts with the beginning of your menstrual cycle and lasts until you ovulate, typically 7 to 21 days. If conception does not occur, the luteal phase begins after ovulation and lasts until the next menstrual cycle, typically 12 to 16 days. In the follicular phase, one special egg out of the approximate one million a woman is born with in her ovaries is released into the fallopian tube on a journey to the uterus. Here, it awaits fertilization from one sperm. Rarely, a woman may release more than one egg, and if they are fertilized, result in fraternal twins.

Some women can feel a small pain or discomfort in their pelvic region when ovulating — often called mittelschmerz, German for "middle pain" — and others may experience light spotting. After tracking menstruation, the next easiest way to determine ovulation is by monitoring your cervical mucus. After your period ends, track the changes in the cervical mucus. Before ovulation, it starts out thicker, and then thins to a more conducive consistency for sperm navigation closer to ovulation. Once you determine when you ovulate, it's time to get down to the business of getting pregnant. Because the egg is only available for conception for a mere 12 to 24 hours, the window for conception is very small. Some experts recommend intercourse up to a couple of days prior to ovulation due to the hardy life span of sperm — they can lurk in the fallopian tubes for up to five days! While some couples may take any opportunity to conceive, intercourse daily, or every other day during the window of fertility is sufficient. If conception does not occur within the 24 hours after ovulation, the egg will disintegrate, and be absorbed by the uterus, which then sheds its lining through menstruation.

If you are unsuccessful in determining when you ovulate, the next step is to track your basal temperature with a basal thermometer. This will establish your baseline basal temperature throughout your cycle, and show when your temperature rises, which signals imminent ovulation. Another option is an ovulation predictor, which are available through your doctor, online and at many drugstores. It is important to note that several things can throw off your cycle and ovulation — stress and illness being two of the biggest contributors. Additionally, a woman can ovulate without a period, and can have a period without ovulating. If you have tried unsuccessfully for several months to conceive, don't hesitate to speak with your doctor about options to help you conceive.

If conception does occur, the outside composition of the egg undergoes changes to make it impossible for other sperm to enter. The cell in the egg begins furiously dividing in the fallopian tube, and continues on its way to the uterus. By day three after conception, the egg, or embryo as it is referred to for the first eight weeks, will make it to the uterus. It will then be implanted in the rich lining of the uterus 6 to 12 days after conception. The mother's body begins producing the Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin (hCG) hormone which will be detectable by pregnancy tests approximately three to four weeks after the first day of your cycle. Next thing you know, you're registering for diapers and baby booties!

Source: http://www.pregnancyetc.com/conception_tips.htm

Stages of Motherhood - Conception

Pregnancy:
Understanding Conception

Most doctors calculate the start of pregnancy from the first day of your last menstrual period. This is called the "menstrual age" and is about two weeks ahead of when conception actually occurs.

Here's a primer on conception:

Ovulation: Each month, in one of a woman's two ovaries, a group of immature eggs start to develop in small fluid-filled cysts called follicles. Normally, one of the follicles is selected to complete development (maturation). This "dominant follicle" suppresses the growth of all of the other follicles, which stop growing and degenerate. The mature follicle ruptures and releases the egg from the ovary (ovulation). Ovulation generally occurs about two weeks before a woman's next menstrual period begins.

Development of Corpus Luteum: After ovulation, the ruptured follicle develops into a structure called the corpus luteum, which secretes two hormones, progesterone and estrogen. The progesterone helps prepare the endometrium (lining of the uterus) for the embryo to implant by thickening it.

Release of Egg: The egg is released and travels into the fallopian tube where it remains until a single sperm penetrates it during fertilization (the union of egg and sperm; see below). The egg can be fertilized for about 24 hours after ovulation. On average, ovulation and fertilization occurs about two weeks after your last menstrual period.

Menses: If no sperm is around to fertilize the egg, it and the corpus luteum will degenerate, removing the high level of hormones. This causes the endometrium to slough off, resulting in menstrual bleeding. Then the cycle repeats itself.

Fertilization: If sperm does meet and penetrate a mature egg after ovulation, it will fertilize it. When the sperm penetrates the egg, changes occur in the protein coating around it to prevent other sperm from entering. At the moment of fertilization, your baby's genetic make-up is complete, including its sex. Since the mother can provide only X chromosomes (she's XX), if a Y sperm fertilizes the egg, your baby will be a boy (XY); if an X sperm fertilizes the egg, your baby will be a girl (XX).

Implantation: Within 24-hours after fertilization, the egg begins dividing rapidly into many cells. It remains in the fallopian tube for about three days. The fertilized egg (called a zygote) continues to divide as it passes slowly through the fallopian tube to the uterus where its next job is to attach to the endometrium (a process called implantation). First the zygote becomes a solid ball of cells, then it becomes a hollow ball of cells called a blastocyst. Before implantation, the blastocyst breaks out of its protective covering. When the blastocyst establishes contact with the endometrium, an exchange of hormones helps the blastocyst attach. Some women notice spotting (or slight bleeding) for one or two days around the time of implantation. The endometrium becomes thicker and the cervix is sealed by a plug of mucus.

Within three weeks, the blastocyst cells begin to grow as clumps of cells within that little ball, and the baby's first nerve cells have already formed. Your developing baby is called an embryo from the moment of conception to the eighth week of pregnancy. After the eighth week and until the moment of birth, your developing baby is called a fetus.

Pregnancy Hormones: Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin (hCG) is a hormone present in your blood from the time of conception and is produced by the cells that form the placenta. This is the hormone detected in a pregnancy test; but, it usually takes three to four weeks from the first day of your last period for the levels of hCG to be high enough to be detected by pregnancy tests.

The development stages of pregnancy are called trimesters, or three-month periods, because of the distinct changes that occur in each stage.

Source: http://www.webmd.com/content/article/51/40790.htm

Other Internet Resources:

http://www.wdxcyber.com/ninfer11.htm

Everything you need to know about getting pregnant: how ovulation works, how conception takes place and when is the best time get pregnant.

http://conception.parenthood.com/

Conception is Easy with a Free Online Ovulation Calculator at Parenthood.com. Find resources to help you get pregnant and begin your journey into parenthood