10 questions about the female sexual cycle: ovulation, hormones, conception.
The 10 most important questions about the sexual cycle, among them: what is ovulation, what hormones affect the sexual cycle and what happens when fertilisation of the egg takes place? All of them are answered by an expert - Dr Mariusz Piątkowski, a gynaecologist-obstetrician and the doctor in charge of couples trying for a baby at the InviMed clinic in Gdynia.
10 questions of utmost importance for female fertility
A woman is born with several million immature ova in her ovaries. After puberty, a dozen or so ova grow and mature each month, of which usually only one is released from the ovary during the perovulatory period. This is when a woman has the best chance of becoming pregnant. One egg is one chance of having a baby. If you want to better understand the mechanism of ovulation, or ovulation, find out the 10 questions of utmost importance for female fertility and the answers provided by our expert.
1 What is ovulation? What are the symptoms of ovulation?
At ovulation, the fully mature ovarian follicle ruptures, releasing an egg cell into the peritoneal cavity, which is intercepted by the fallopian tube and waits in the fallopian tube for fertilisation. The moment when the follicle ruptures and the egg cell is released is called ovulation or ovulation.
The moment the follicle ruptures and the egg is released, the woman may feel a not very strong pain in the lower abdomen on the left or right side or in the sacral area.
2. When does ovulation occur?
For women with regular menstrual cycles of a normal length of about 28 days, ovulation usually occurs mid-cycle - between days 12 and 18. Usually 14 days before the start of menstrual bleeding in the following month. In women with longer cycles, ovulation occurs correspondingly later.
Menstrual periods that are too frequent and cycles shorter than 25 days are an indication to consult a gynaecologist. Excessively long cycles - longer than 35 days - are also a worrying sign and may indicate ovulatory disorders.
3. What hormones affect the sexual cycle?
The cycle is controlled by the following sex hormones:
- FSH (from follicle-stimulating hormone(folliculotropic hormone or folliculostimulin) and LH (from folliculotropic hormone or folliculostimulin). luteinizing hormone, or luteinising hormone or lutropin) secreted by the pituitary gland. FSH and LH are hormones of the gonadotropin group;
- oestradiol and progesterone - produced in the ovaries.
4. What effect do the hormones FSH, LH, oestradiol and progesterone have on the female body?
During the menstrual cycle, a woman's female hormone levels change, which is responsible for mood swings, as well as changes in the appearance of the skin and hair. The least favourable time is just before menstruation, when progesterone levels are at their lowest.However, these symptoms accompany much more important changes.
FSH, LH, oestradiol and progesterone induce changes throughout the woman's body in order to prepare it for pregnancy. Above all, they exert an influence on changes in the area of a woman's reproductive organs - the uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries and vagina - preparing the ovum for fertilisation and the uterine wall for embryo implantation and pregnancy development.
5. What hormones affect the maturation of the ovum?
The processes of ovum maturation are controlled by the hormones FSH and LH secreted by the pituitary gland, which is an endocrine gland that regulates the secretion of hormones by the other endocrine glands.
6. How do FSH and LH affect oocyte maturation?
- FSH hormone Stimulates the growth of egg cells in the ovary. Under its influence, the maturation of follicles begins in the ovaries.
- The follicle gradually fills with fluid containing oestradiol. At the same time, the egg cell matures inside.
- Estradiol causes the uterine mucosa to thicken and regenerate from the previous menstruation.
- When the ovum maturation process of about 14 days is completed, the second pituitary hormone LH stimulates the release of the ovum from the ovary. This is a process called ovulation.
7. What happens to the ovarian follicle after ovulation, i.e. after the release of the egg?
At the site of the ruptured follicle, after the mature ovum has escaped to the outside, a space is created, which we call the corpus luteum that transforms into the corpus luteum. This space as soon as it is formed begins to produce progesterone.
8 What is the significance of progesterone released by the corpus luteum for eventual pregnancy?
Progesterone prepares the mucous membrane of the uterus for the implantation of a properly developed embryo, causing it to have a strong blood supply. The uterus thus prepared will be able to nourish the embryo developing within it. Deficiency of progesterone, can cause pregnancy loss at any stage of its development.
9. What happens in a woman's body when fertilisation of an egg takes place?
The fertilisation of the ovum by the entering sperm and the normal development of the early pregnancy interrupts the rhythm of the sexual cycle. From this point, the ovary begins to produce hormones that initiate the correct implantation of the embryo in the uterus and the further development of the pregnancy, until the resulting placenta takes over this function, which occurs around the 16th-17th week of pregnancy.
If the egg cell is fertilised, the corpus luteum does not disappear. It transforms into the so-called corpus of pregnancy, which produces progesterone. It helps to maintain the developing pregnancy and, during the course of the pregnancy, inhibits the maturation of further egg cells. Progesterone is the key hormone of the luteal phase of the cycle and in the course of each stage of pregnancy.
10. What happens in the female body when fertilisation of the ovum does not take place?
When fertilisation does not occur within several hours after ovulation, the corpus luteum gradually disappears and transforms into a corpus luteum after 10 days. This is associated with a gradual decrease in the level of progesterone in the blood, which in turn causes a decrease in the blood supply to the endometrium. Approximately 12-14 days after ovulation, it is removed by the exfoliation of the endometrium (manifested as menstruation) usually lasting about 5 days.
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