If you’re trying to fall pregnant and don’t want to leave it entirely to chance, it’s important to familiarise yourself with ovulation,
Ovulation refers to the release of a mature egg from the ovaries. After release, the egg travels down the Fallopian tube towards the uterus. It is only at this point that the egg can be fertilised by a sperm, resulting in pregnancy.
This process is triggered by increasing oestrogen levels during the cycle. As soon as the oestrogen level reach a specific value, the concentration of luteinising hormone (LH) increases. This is the signal for the ovaries to release an egg. Ovulation kits can be used to determine the increase in the LH value to determine the time of ovulation around 24 hours in advance.
Release of the egg generally occurs on the 14th day of a cycle. with a standard cycle lasting 28 days. However, the body doesn’t tend to stick to theoretical guidelines, which means that a woman’s cycle can vary. In addition, ovulation is the result of a complex hormonal chain reaction that begins in the previous cycle and can be different each time. Conclusion: Most women do not ovulate on day 14. day, and ovulation doesn’t always occur on the same day of their cycle. As a result, it’s not easy to determine the exact moment of ovulation.
An egg cell can only be fertilised when it has been released from the ovary. This is known as ovulation. After ovulation an egg cell can survive for a maximum of 24 hours. However, the fertile window begins five days before this. This is because, in good conditions, sperm can survive up to five days and wait for the egg to appear. In other words, there are a total of 5 fertile days (5 + 1 = 6) per cycle. Studies indicate that you have the best chances of conceiving if you have sex on the two days before ovulation.
Once an egg is fertilised, its genetic material merges with that of the sperm cell. The result of this merger is a blastocyst, which migrates through the Fallopian tube to the uterus during the first three days of development. Once the blastocyst arrives in the uterus, it can take a few days to embed itself in the uterine wall. In general, the time from ovulation to implantation of the blastocyst and closure of the cervix can last from seven to twelve days.
Unfortunately, there are no clear symptoms that can be used to determine ovulation beyond doubt. Nevertheless, with a little body awareness and experience, you can certainly recognize some signs: