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What is pregnancy?
Pregnancy is a process that occurs naturally in both male and female partners. Pregnancy occurs when a male sperm fertilizes a female egg. For some women, pregnancy can occur quickly, but for other women it may take longer. Of the 100 couples who tried to have children, 80-90 were successful in a period of approximately one year. While the rest takes longer, even requires help to get pregnant.
Female egg
What makes a woman pregnant are the ovaries or ovaries, two almond-shaped glands that attach to the right and left sides of the uterus.
The egg reaches the fertile period in one of the ovaries in the middle of the menstrual cycle, between days 12 and 16, to be released and immediately captured by the end of the nearest fallopian tube. (Fallopian tube: the tube that connects the ovaries and uterus.)
The release of the egg, which is called the fertile period, signals the start of the conception process. The egg, which has an average life span of only 24 hours, must be fertilized immediately so that pregnancy can occur. When the egg meets a healthy sperm on its way to the uterus, the two cells fuse to create new "life".
If these two cells do not meet in the uterus, it is possible that the cells have died or been absorbed by the body. When pregnancy does not occur, the ovaries or ovaries stop producing the hormones estrogen and progesterone (hormones that work throughout pregnancy) and the lining of the uterus will turn into menstrual blood.
Male sperm cells
When a woman matures an egg in a period of about one month, the man continues to work to produce millions of sperm cells which aim to fertilize the egg. While women are born complete with all the eggs they will need later, men are not equipped with ready-made sperm. Men have to produce their own sperm cells and it takes approximately 64 - 72 days for the formation of new sperm.
Sperm live in a man's body within a few weeks (on average) and about 250 million cells are secreted during ejaculation. This indicates that there will always be sperm being produced.
The testes, a pair of glands located in the scrotal sac under the penis, are where sperm is produced. The testicles that hang outside the male's body are due to their sensitive condition.
To produce healthy sperm cells, the testes must be around 34 degrees Celsius, which is colder than the normal human body temperature. Sperm cells are then stored in a part of the testis called the epididymis before mixing with semen and before ejaculation.
Even though there are millions of sperm that are produced and released during ejaculation, there is only one cell that can fertilize an egg - even in the case of multiple pregnancies. The sex of the embryo that will be produced depends on the type of sperm that is able to reach the egg for the first time. Sperm with an X chromosome will produce a baby girl while sperm with a Y chromosome will produce a baby boy.
Myths about choosing a baby's gender have been around for centuries. Some are even supported by scientific evidence, but the possibility of a baby's sex is still determined randomly (random).
How can babies be formed?
When having sex, your body can have an orgasm. It should be noted that orgasm also plays an important role in the body's biological function. For men, orgasm pushes the vaginal fluid full of sperm into the vagina and into the cervix or cervix at an estimated speed of 16 km / hour. The urge to ejaculate makes it easier for sperm to find their way to swim to the egg. Women don't have to have an orgasm for pregnancy to occur. Uterine contractions, even if they are slow, can make sperm swim more smoothly even without female orgasm.
For those of you who want or are about to become pregnant, living sperm cells need to be in your reproductive tract during the fertile period.
Not all women are fertile in the middle of their menstrual cycle or in the same period every month. To increase your chances of getting pregnant, try to have sex every other day or during your "clean days."
At this point there is not much to do but hope for a pregnancy. While you and your partner enjoy the moments after sex to cool off or even cuddle, a lot is going on in your body at that moment. Millions of sperm cells have started their journey to find eggs and this is not an easy thing. The first challenge may come from the cervical mucus, which looks like a web that cannot be penetrated by anything outside of the fertile period. However, during your fertile period, the cervical mucus will magically stretch to make way for the strongest sperm cells on their way to the egg.
The sperm that can survive in a woman's body still faces the long journey from the cervix to the uterus and then down the fallopian tube - a total travel length of about 18 cm, with an estimated gain of 2.5 cm every 15 minutes. The sperm that swim the fastest can take as little as 45 minutes and the most up to 12 hours. Sperm will survive in the female body for up to 7 days if the sperm cannot find an egg in the fallopian tube. This could mean that if you are fertile during this time, pregnancy can still occur.
The sperm failure rate is very high; only a few have been able to find an egg. The rest get lost or lose their way, swim towards the wrong fallopian tubes, or die while traveling. For some cells who may be lucky to be around the egg, their journey has not stopped there. These cells must compete to penetrate the egg before anything else. Egg cells need to be ripened within 24 hours of release; when there is one sperm cell that is able to penetrate the egg, the egg will prevent other sperm from penetrating it again. The mechanism is a kind of shield that protects and secures the presence of sperm in the egg.
During the fertilization process, the genetic material in the sperm and egg combines to form new cells which will divide. This new set of cells is called a blastocyst. The blastocyst will escape from the fallopian tube and head towards the uterus. The trip may take up to 3 days.
Pregnancy does not actually occur before the blastocyst attaches itself to the uterine wall to develop into the embryo and placenta. Usually the blastocyst will stick to and develop somewhere other than the uterus, usually the fallopian tube - this is known as an ectopic pregnancy and is considered a medical emergency. Ectopic pregnancy or pregnancy outside the uterus cannot be successful and must be treated immediately to prevent damage to the fallopian tubes.
It can take about a few weeks when you are not having your period and suspect pregnancy. If you are not having your period or have signs of pregnancy, take a home pregnancy test to confirm all the possibilities. If the results are positive, congratulations to those of you who are going on a new journey as prospective parents.
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