Now that your body has finished it's last menstrual period is it ready for ovulation, the time when an egg is released. Females are born with all the eggs their body will ever produce already made. Each month after puberty, and before menopause, an egg ripens and is released from the follicles in the ovaries.
Usually one egg is released, however some women release more than one egg in a month, resulting in the possibility of multiples (twins or more). Some women who conceive twins, may be genetically prone to multiples (for example, if their grandmother or mother also gave birth to twins). Others may have been given hormone treatments to encourage the ripening of eggs, which can often result in multiples.
Sometimes women can feel a slight pinch or twinge of pain in the abdomen when the egg is released from the follicle. This pain is called Mittelschmerz and isn't usually felt during each cycle. In fact, only around 25% of women ever feel this at all, but usually not each month.
When a ripened egg is released it travels down one of the Fallopian tubes on it's way to the uterus. This week, because you are pregnant, we know that the egg was met by one of a million sperm released by your partner, and fertilized.
Your egg carries a copy of your genetic code, and the sperm carries a copy of your partner's genetic code. Each holds 23 of the total 46 chromosomes your baby will have in his genetic code. When the two come together they create a unique human being that is different than any other human DNA in existence. Fascinating!
While the egg is only fertile for about 24 hours, sperm can live in the Fallopian tubes for two or three days. When the first sperm penetrates the membrane surrounding the ovum, it becomes enclosed within the membrane and prevents any other sperm from entering, a process called zona reaction.
Did you enjoy this article? It is part of the Pregnancy - Week by Week Through the First Trimester ebook available today!
Resources:
The Pregnancy Book: Month-by-Month by Dr. Sears
Your Pregnancy Week by Week by Lesley Regan
The Complete Book of Pregnancy and Childbirth by Sheila Kitzinger
