What is ovulation?

What is ovulation?

What is ovulation?

Ovulation occurs when a mature egg is released from the ovary, enters the fallopian tube, and becomes available for fertilization. About every month, an egg matures in one of your ovaries. When she reaches maturity, the egg is released from the ovary, where it travels down the fallopian tube on its way to the waiting sperm and uterus. The lining of the uterus thickens to prepare for a fertilized egg. If conception does not occur, the lining of the uterus is shed along with the blood. The prolapse of an unfertilized egg and the wall of the uterus is the time of menstruation.

Basic facts:

  • An egg lives 12-24 hours after leaving the ovary
  • Normally only one egg is released each time of ovulation
  • Ovulation can be affected by stress, illness or disruption of normal
  • Some women may experience some light blood or spotting during ovulation
  • Implantation of a fertilized egg normally takes place 6-12 days after ovulation
  • Each woman is born with millions of immature eggs that are awaiting ovulation to begin
  • A menstrual period can occur even if ovulation has not occurred
  • Ovulation can occur even if a menstrual period has not occurred
  • Some women experience pain/aching near ovaries during ovulation called ‘middle pain’
  • If an egg is not fertilized, it disintegrates and is absorbed into the uterine lining

How to track your cycle

A woman's monthly cycle is measured from the first day of her period to the first day of her next period. On average, a woman's cycle is usually 28 to 32 days, but for some women, cycles can be much shorter or much longer. Ovulation can be calculated starting from the first day of the last period or counting 12-16 days from the next expected period. For most women, ovulation occurs somewhere between days 11 and 21 of the cycle, starting on the first day of the last period. This is what many refer to as the "fertile period" of a woman's cycle because intercourse during this time increases the chances of pregnancy. Ovulation can occur at different times during the cycle and may occur on different days of each month. Keeping track of your cycle is important, and thankfully, there are a number of free fertility charting tools available to help women identify peak fertility days.

The ovulation cycle is divided into two parts

The first part of the cycle is called the follicular phase. This phase begins on the first day of the last menstrual period and continues until ovulation.

This first half of the cycle can vary greatly from woman to woman, ranging from 7 to 40 days.

The second half of the cycle is called the luteal phase and lasts from the day of ovulation until the start of the next period. The luteal phase has a more precise time scale and is usually 12 to 16 days from the day of ovulation.

Ultimately, this means that the day of ovulation will determine the length of your cycle. It also means that external factors such as stress, illness, and disruption to your normal daily routine can disrupt your cycle, which then causes your menstrual cycle to change. Thus, the old idea that stress can affect the menstrual cycle is only partly true. Stress can affect your ovulation, which ultimately determines when your period comes, but stress during your expected period won't delay it - it's already determined when it comes 12-16 days early!

Fertility awareness is one way to track when you ovulate, including noticing changes in cervical mucus and using a basal thermometer. Cervical fluid turns into a moist, slippery substance similar to "egg white" just before ovulation and before it ends. The basal thermometer helps track the rise in body temperature, which signals that ovulation has just occurred.

Another way to track your cycle is to use ovulation kits and fertility monitors. They are affordable and can be purchased online. Tracking ovulation can help a woman better understand when pregnancy can and cannot occur during her menstrual cycle. Once ovulation has occurred, there is nothing you can do to increase your chances of pregnancy. Your next step is to start watching for early pregnancy symptoms.

When the menstrual cycle begins, estrogen levels are low. Your hypothalamus (which is responsible for maintaining hormone levels) sends a message to the pituitary gland, which then sends out FSH. This follicle-stimulating hormone causes some of your follicles to turn into mature eggs. One of them will develop into a dominant follicle, from which a mature egg will be released, and the rest will disintegrate.

As the follicles mature, they release another hormone, estrogen. High levels of estrogen tell the hypothalamus and pituitary gland that the egg has matured. Luteinizing hormone is then released, called the luteinizing hormone surge. The surge in luteinizing hormone causes the egg to break through the ovarian wall within 24 to 36 hours and begin its journey down the fallopian tube for fertilization. Ovulation predictor kits work by detecting this luteinizing hormone surge. The follicle from which the egg is released is called the corpus luteum and secretes progesterone, which helps thicken and prepare the uterine lining for implantation. The corpus luteum produces progesterone for about 12-16 days (the luteal phase of your cycle).

If the egg is fertilized, the corpus luteum will continue to produce progesterone for the developing pregnancy until the placenta takes over. You can start looking for signs of pregnancy as early as a week after fertilization. You can also start pregnancy testing as early as 7-10 days after your ovulation date with an early detection pregnancy test.

If fertilization does not occur, the egg dissolves after 24 hours. At this point, hormone levels will drop and the lining of the uterus will begin to slough off about 12 to 16 days after ovulation. This is your period and it brings us back to the first day of your cycle. Then the journey starts again.

The timing of ovulation is one of the most important things a woman needs to know about her body as it is the determining factor in getting pregnant and preventing pregnancy.


 

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