If you’re worried that chapter one is going to be one big boring health and science lesson, don’t. Sure we’re going to learn a lot about how our bodies work – and sometimes don’t -- but it won’t be a repeat of junior high health class. The stuff we’re going to learn about now is all the stuff you absolutely need to know in order to get pregnant – and stay pregnant! Let’s get started by taking a closer look at the way we are made:
What Makes Her Special
Women are complex creatures – in more ways than one! But nothing may be as complex as her reproductive organs. Here’s a quick look at how a woman is capable of bearing children and why it’s so important that each organ be in tip-top working order:
The Vagina
Having little to do with your ability to conceive a child, the vagina is considered more of a passageway for the penis and its sperm to enter the opening of the uterus where it can do the job it is intended to do.One thing that can affect your ability to get pregnant is the hymen, a perforated piece of tissue found at the entrance of the vagina. While the vast majority of young girls have small openings in the hymen, which is later completely torn during the first sexual experience, a small percentage of girls may have an imperforate (or solid) hymen. This can cause blood from the monthly period to back up behind the tissue and into the fallopian tube, which can cause endometriosis, a major factor in female infertility.
The Cervix
The cervix is a tight muscle-like tissue found in the lower part of the uterus. Its main job is to hold the baby in place until delivery. However, it also guards against infection by forming a mucus barrier between your vagina and the inside of the uterus.
An incomplete cervix can be a cause for concern, since it is not closed enough to hold the baby in place, thus causing a miscarriage once the baby’s weight presses against it, opening the cervix even more. An incompetent cervix can usually be fixed by suturing the cervix closed until delivery.
The Uterus
A woman’s uterus, otherwise known as the womb, is typically a pear shaped organ designed to hold and nurture a baby for the nine months it takes to develop inside the mother’s body.
In the past it has been highly believed that a woman with a retroverted uterus, or one that is flopped forward toward your pubic bone could not get pregnant. This is simply not true. However, there are some uterine malformations that can affect your ability to both get pregnant and to maintain a pregnancy long enough to give birth to a healthy baby. They include: A septate uterus, which features a band of tissue called the septum which can partially or completely divide the inside of the uterus.
Bicornuate (two-horn) and unicornuate (one-horn) uteri feature either one (uni) or two (bi) narrower-than-normal cavities. Women with this type of uterus often miscarry once they do become pregnant. Polyps, also known as benign fibroid growths in the uterus can interfere with a woman’s ability to conceive, and need to be removed in order to increase their chances of an embryo attaching to the uterine wall. Although, removing fibroids can leave scar tissue in the uterine cavity that can make it more difficult to get pregnant since a fetus can have a hard time implanting on scar tissue.
The Ovaries
The ovaries may be two of the most important organs needed to have a baby since they hold and protect the eggs needed for conception. Women do not make eggs throughout their lifetime. Instead, they are born with the amount they will ever have stored in their ovaries. Every month, some are lost due to a variety of biological reasons, while one or two are released for fertilization. If a sperm does not fertilize the egg, it is flushed from the body during the woman’s monthly menses. Should one or both ovaries (and the eggs it contains) become damaged or diseased any time during her life, it can greatly affect her chances of ever bearing children.
The Eggs
Without healthy viable eggs, a woman has a zero percent chance of getting pregnant or giving birth to a healthy baby. Eggs are made up of some important factors including its Chromosomes, which contain the genes that will determine what your baby will look and act like; whether it will be short or tall; healthy or not; fat or skinny; and so much more. A human egg is made up of three protective layers starting with the nourishing and protective cumulus layer; followed by the corona radiate, a protective single layer of cells covering the zona pellucida, or egg “shell.” A mature, ready-for-fertilization egg (also called an ocycte), contains only 23 chromosomes. Add that to the 23 offered by the male’s sperm and your new baby’s cells gets the 46 chromosomes needed to be perfect. Miss one or two chromosomes and your baby with either have a serious malady or you will miscarry.
The Fallopian Tubes
Every month a woman’s ovaries releases one or two eggs to be fertilized so it can grow in the safety of the womb. But, first, it must get there, travelling by way of the fallopian tube, which connects each ovary to the uterus. Without healthy tubes, the egg can neither become fertilized (since a blocked tube will prevent the sperm from getting to it in the first place), or make its way to the safety of the nourishing womb. Tubes can be damaged in several ways, with the most common culprits being infection or endometriosis. While both tubes do not have to be clear in order to get pregnant, your chances of conceiving are reduced if one is damaged or blocked in any way.
Her Menstrual Cycle
If all of your reproductive organs are not working properly, they can affect your menstrual cycle and your ability to get pregnant. Unfortunately, when it comes to a woman’s menses a lot of things can go wrong. But, before we begin to discuss all of the things that can negatively affect your menstrual cycle, let’s first take a look at how it all works:
Step One
A woman’s pituitary gland releases FSH -- a follicle-stimulating hormone -- after the monthly menses has ended. Meanwhile in the ovary, a dozen or so antral follicles (fluid filled sacs surrounding the egg), begin to grow. It is during this time that at least one egg matures. In response to FSH and luteinizing hormone (LH), the follicle is released by the pituitary gland, and begins to produce estrogen in the ovary. At the same time, the estrogen being produced in the ovary signals the uterus to thicken its lining in preparation for the egg’s release. This is called the proliferative phase of the
uterus. In normal cases, one follicle grows faster than the others, producing more estrogen, causing FSH to decrease and the smaller follicles to stop growing. This signals the pituitary gland to release an LH surge, which makes the egg inside the dominant follicle mature.
Step Two
This causes the follicle to burst, releasing the egg which is picked up by one of the fallopian tubes. This is called ovulation.
Step Three
If all goes as planned, the mature egg will meet up with an eager sperm, resulting in an embryo that will now begin to travel down the fallopian tubes, toward the safety of the womb, where it will implant and grow for the next nine months.
Step Four
The leftover part of the follicle, now called the corpus luteum, now begins to produce progesterone, an important chemical to help the embryo implant properly in the lining of the uterus where it can grow. If an egg fails to implant here, the uterine lining will begin to break down and your monthly flow will begin again. It usually takes about 10-14 days for your body to mature an egg and release it.
Ovulation for most women usually takes place between the 10th and 14th day after the start of their last period. Understanding the importance of consistent ovulation is an important factor in determining why you may be having trouble getting pregnant. For instance, if you are getting your period 12 days or less after you ovulate, you may not be making enough progesterone to support a pregnancy. In contrast, if your cycles are very long, or even irregular, you may not be producing eggs often – or even at all!
Timing Is Everything
Remember, when it comes to getting pregnant, timing is everything, which is why it is so important to understand your menstrual cycle. The biggest mistake a women make is assuming that she is “normal,” and so is her ovulation. Most of us have been taught that ovulation occurs around the 14th day so we should be having lots of sex between days 12 and 15. While this may be true for most women, it isn’t true for all women. If you’ve been trying for awhile to get pregnant, the best thing you may want to look at is exactly when you ovulate and when you’re having intercourse. Ovulation usually occurs 14 days before your period begins. So, if you have a 28 day cycle, then you can expect to ovulate on day 14 like the average woman. But, if your periods are only 25 days apart, you’re going to ovulate around day 11, so having sex on days 13 and 14 will be too late. Conversely, if you have longer periods (say 34 days), you won’t even ovulate until day 20, so all that sperm from day 14 and 15 will be long gone by the time it’s needed.To better your chances of getting pregnant, be sure to study your periods; figure out when you actually do ovulate and then make sure that you get busy during the right time of the month! For some people, it’s that easy! Of course, it’s not always that easy to get pregnant, especially if you have irregular periods. Menstrual cycles that are way off the scale of normal usually indicate an underlining fertility issue such as a lack of regular ovulation, which we’ll discuss later. Right now, the important thing is to get in touch with your body and your menstrual cycle so you have the information and knowledge that you’ll need as you continue through this book.
