A Woman’s Guide to Fertility

Getting pregnant begins with understanding your reproductive system. If you fully understand how things work, then you’re far better equipped to successfully conceive. Each month, your reproductive organs begin to prepare for pregnancy. It’s a complicated process and involves your pituitary gland (in the brain), your ovaries and your uterus. Together, these work in harmony to ensure the perfect environment is in place so that ovulation may occur. Once ovulation occurs, then all that needs to happen is for the sperm and egg to meet and then the fertilised egg to implant into your uterus.

How does ovulation happen?

Each month, your pituitary gland releases a special hormone. This hormone is responsible for communicating with your ovaries and making sure that they produce “follicles”. These follicles grow and begin to secrete a hormone called oestrogen. That oestrogen is necessary for the walls of your uterus to begin to thicken in preparation for the implantation of a fertilised egg.

By day 7 of the cycle, the follicles have completed their growth – all except for one. This single follicle, a sort of super-follicle - keeps growing and nourishes an egg, which is immature at this stage and is known as an oocyte. By day 12, the follicle is ready to release a flood of oestrogen into your blood stream and this then moves through your bloodstream until it reaches your pituitary gland. The pituitary gland then responds by releasing another hormone known as a luteinising hormone. This hormone then gives the follicle another growth spurt.

Just before ovulation, the egg in the follicle, now mature, breaks free and the follicle then releases chemicals to encourage the fallopian tubes to shift closer to the follicle.

The follicle then grows until it bursts open and releases the egg and the fluid into your abdominal area. At this point, the fallopian tube picks up the egg and moves it to the entrance of the tube. The egg is then pushed towards the uterine entrance.

As it travels towards the uterus, the egg is either met by sperm and fertilised or it isn’t. If it isn’t, then it arrives unfertilised and is reabsorbed by your body.

Getting support with your fertility

This complicated process happens each and every month for fertile women and for many women, the process is mysterious and hard to understand.

This is why, if you have been experiencing difficulty with conceiving, it’s a good idea to seek professional support such as that provided by this London fertility centre.

A fertility centre can do much more than educate but can test both you and your partner to ensure that everything is happening as it should be and that your hormone levels are correct.

Whilst conceiving can sometimes be challenging, having the support of medical professionals as you go along your journey to parenthood can be incredibly comforting.

K Elizabeth xoxox

*Collaborative Post