Ovulation

All women on gaining maturity start experiencing menstruation cycles. These are 28 day cycles that in a normal woman occur thirteen times in a year and last about five to six days. This process begins in the brain’s hypothalamus region. The pituitary gland located in this region secretes two hormones, Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH) and Luteinizing Hormone (LH).

These two essential hormones travel down to the ovarian follicle. FSH stimulates the follicle until it responds by opening up a small aperture and releasing an egg. This egg is drawn into the fallopian tube and heads towards the uterus where it waits to be fertilized for about a day. To prepare the uterus for such an event, the walls are plumped up. This phase within which the egg enters the uterus and waits to be fertilized by a male sperm is called ovulation. Women have practically millions of eggs waiting to go through this phase month after month. Ovulation and menstruation though they work together can at times occur exclusively. In other words, you might still have your period without ovulating or you might ovulate without having a period.

Once ovulation occurs, there are only two possibilities. The ovum or egg might either be fertilized by a sperm or it may not be. If it does get fertilized the egg gets implanted on the uterine wall and the development begins. This implantation stage occurs a week or two after ovulation.

If the egg doesn’t get fertilized on ovulation, it just disintegrates and is reabsorbed by the uterine wall. The cycle then ends with the wall lining and the egg being shed via the process of menstruation.

Many young women use knowledge of this cycle to get pregnant. They make use of what’s known as the Ovulation calendar to indulge in intercourse right before or during ovulation to increase their chances of getting pregnant. This calculation is simple.

Start by denominating the first day of your menstrual cycle as day 1 and count down right to the end of your cycle. Going by this method, you are most likely to be ovulating on day 14. This however, is a calculation that varies from woman to woman as each female has a varying cycle that could span anywhere between 28-32 days.

In humans the process of ovulation is said to be invisible because it can’t easily be detected by another person. The woman concerned however, is likely to notice the onset of this phase by such symptoms as an increase in sexual desire, a more opaque discharge, an increased sensitivity to smell and also a slight pain of the ovaries.

A recent study even proved that women are at their most attractive in terms of their appearance when they are in the middle of this phase. Last year, Jaques Donnez, a professor from Belgium made a major breakthrough in Ovulation studies by managing to take photographs at the very instant of ovulation.

This same information is also used by women to avoid pregnancies by indulging in protected sex during the ovulation phase or by ingesting contraceptives that suppress ovulation.