Making babies...
The first day of your pregnancy, as it is officially dated, is actually the first day of your last period. So in week one, you’ve not even released the egg that will become your unborn child. Instead, you begin your period as normal, perhaps unaware that this is the last one you will have for some time to come!
However, if you’re planning to get pregnant, it’s already a good idea to start taking folic acid to prevent spina bifida and to eat a healthy well balanced diet, while cutting out alcohol and cigarettes. After all, it’s never too early to give your baby the best start in life.
Your partner's sperm count is key to making conception happen. While technically it only takes one sperm to fertilise an egg, sperm swim and work in teams. Alcohol, hot baths, tight pants and exposure to certain drugs and chemicals can be fatal to sperm. Therefore if you are trying to conceive, it’s well worth encouraging your partner to adopt a healthy lifestyle.
Conditions must also be just right inside your body. Your cervical fluid must be exactly the right consistency. If you have a 28-day cycle, this happens about 14 days after your period starts. As your 24- to 48- hour window of fertility approaches, your cervical fluid will change texture from watery to creamy, then become slippery.
How it all happens
Eggs, or ova, are the largest cell in the human body, measuring about 1/175th of an inch or 1/7th of a millimetre. Your eggs have been waiting for years inside a tiny bubble in your ovary called a follicle. Every month, about three to 20 eggs receive a hormonal signal that cues them to mature and prepare for ovulation. As ovulation nears, one follicle will become dominant and grow faster than the others, nearly tripling in size, and the others will stop growing.
As the follicle grows, it sends a hormonal signal to the lining of your uterus, called the endometrium, telling it to thicken with blood. Ovulation happens when the winning egg bursts through the follicle and through the wall of your ovary. Some women experience sharp pains on one side when the egg bursts through the ovary wall, others don't feel anything. The egg then starts to travel down the fallopian tube, coaxed by tiny finger-like projections called fibrae.
The sperm will reach the egg while still in the fallopian tube. Every sperm carries a half-set of genetic information with it, including an X or Y chromosome that will determine your baby's gender. Sperm with the X, or female chromosome, swim more slowly but live longer. Sperm with the Y, or male chromosome, swim more quickly. Although around 300 million sperm start off on the journey, only one will fertilize the egg.
Once an egg has fertilised, fibrae sweep the tiny ball of cells, now transformed into what's known as a blastocyst, down the fallopian tube and into the top of the uterus. Once there, the fertilized egg burrows into the lining of the uterus. If the fertilized egg implants, the site of implantation will be the place where the placenta attaches to the uterine wall. After the blastocyst has implanted, it emits hormonal signals that tell the lining of the uterus to stay in place, instead of disintegrating and shedding as it normally would during menstruation. Your pregnancy has begun...
Trouble conceiving
If you are having no luck in conceiving after several months, make an appointment with your doctor or family planning clinic. It is worth being checked for any signs of vaginal infections or conditions that might make conception or pregnancy more difficult for you.
Tell your GP about any over-the-counter drugs, herbal supplements or medicated skin creams that you use regularly, as some drugs, such as allergy medicines and cough remedies, can affect fertility. Remember that if you've been having Depo-Provera shots, conception won't occur until the hormones clear your system.
Go to next week's article: Pregnancy Week 5
Please note that the contents of this section are for information only and are not intended as medical advice or as a substitute to your doctor's advice. For medical care and advice, you should consult your doctor on a regular basis. If you have any problem which concerns you, consult your doctor immediately.
