The Process of Conception
Ovulation: Monthly in a woman's two ovaries, a collection
of immature eggs begin development in small
fluid cysts which are called follicles. Often times one
follicles is selected to complete development. The
Primary follicle inhibits
the growth of all of the others, which will then stop
growing. The Primary follicle breaks
and releases the egg from the ovary in a process
known as ovulation. Ovulation often occurs around two weeks
prior to the
woman's next menstrual period.
Development of the Corpus Luteum: After ovulation, the broken follicle begins to form
a into
a structure called corpus luteum. The corpus luteum secretes
two main hormones which are know as progesterone and estrogen.
Progesterone helps prepare the endometrium for
the embryonic implamentation.
The Eggs Release: The egg once released begins travel into the fallopian
tube where it resides until one sperm
penetrates during fertilization which is known as
egg and sperm union. The egg can be fertilized for
about 24 hours after ovulation and the sperm can
live for a couple of days. An average ovulation and fertilization
begins around two weeks
after your last menstrual period.
The Menses: If
the sperm does not exist to fertilize the egg,
corpus luteum will degenerate or die and remove
bodies high level of hormones. The endometrium will
then slow down and end in menstrual bleeding. After
this you will see cycle repetition...
The Fertilization: Sperm must penetrate and meet a mature permanent egg
in order for the fertilization to occur. If sperm
penetrates the egg, then changes occur in the
protein lining that prevent other sperm from
entering. The moment of fertilization strange as it
is, your babies chemical makeup is already complete, including its
now decided
sex. See Create My Baby... Mother's can only create X chromosomes
while a male can contribute Y (The mother is XX). If
a Males Y sperm fertilizes the egg (XY), then your
child will be a boy. If an X sperm fertilizes
the egg, then your child will be a girl (XX).
The Implantation: Around 1 day after fertilization the egg divides
into many cells. The egg will stay in the
fallopian tube for around three days. The fertilized
egg is known as the zygote and will continue to divide
while slowly
passing through the fallopian tube to the
uterus. This is where the attaching to the endometrium
occurs. The zygote becomes a massive ball of cells
and then forms into a hollow ball of cells known as a blastocyst.
Before implantation a blastocyst breaks out of
its covering. When the blastocyst
establishes contact with the endometrium, an
exchange of hormones assists the blastocyst in attachment.
Many women develop spotting for around 1-2 days
during the time of implantation, and endometrium becomes thicker, and the cervix is
closed off
by a plug of mucus.
Through the course of about 3 weeks the blastocyst
cells begin to grow into clumps of cells. A baby's first nerve cell has already formed.
This developing baby now called an embryo from the
moment of conception to the 8th week of
pregnancy. After the 8th week and until your
birthing the child is known as a fetus.
Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin:
A hormone
that is present in your blood stream from the time of conception,
and is produced by the cells that make up the placenta.
Pregnancy tests are set to detect (hCG), which is
usually visible 3-4 weeks after your last menstrual
period.
The
final stages stages of pregnancy are set in
trimesters (three-month periods) See Pregnancy page for more details on
months 1-9. Read More... |
