How You Get Pregnant|When Can You Get Pregnant.
Pregnancy occurs when sperm from the man’s ejaculated semen comes in contact with (fertilizes) the ovum of the woman after unprotected vaginal intercourse. It also occurs by artificial insemination where the sperm of a donor is injected into the uterus of the woman.
Semen.
The semen is the cloudy white fluid that ejaculates from the man’s urethra during sexual intercourse or masturbation. On an average about 2 ml to 5 ml of semen is ejaculated during one ejaculation and this can contain about 40 million to 600 million sperms depending on the volume of semen ejaculated and the time lapsed since the last ejaculation.
Ovum.
The ovum is a Latin word which means an egg or egg cell. A mature ovum is released from one of the two ovaries of the woman during ovulation which is part of the menstrual cycle of the woman. The two ovaries ovulate alternately every month. The ovum travels from the ovary down the fallopian tube where it may get fertilized by the sperm. This fertilized ovum travels into the uterus where it attaches itself to the wall of the uterus and begins to develop over the next nine months into an embryo and then to a fetus. During the first 8 weeks, it is referred to as an embryo and later when it starts assuming a recognizable form, it is called a fetus (unborn child).
How You Become Pregnant|How pregnancy Occurs.
During sexual intercourse the semen is ejaculated into the vagina. The sperms in the semen are very mobile and they travel through the cervix into the uterus and then into the Fallopian tube in search of the ovum to fertilize it. When a single sperm meets and penetrates a mature egg or ovum, it will fertilize it. This is called conception and is the beginning of pregnancy. The sperm attaches to the ovum usually in the fallopian tube which connects the ovary to the uterus on either side (ie left and right side). This is the basic way how women get pregnant.
Picture showing sperm fertilizing the ovum.
Ovulation.
Ovulation Time is usually the 14th day of the 28 day menstrual cycle. The menstrual cycle starts from the next day of the previous cycle. The last day of the previous cycle is the last day of the woman’s menstrual bleeding, also called the “period”. Though ovulation usually occurs on the 14th day of the menstrual cycle, variations in the menstruation cycle do occur from woman to woman and the day of ovulation can change. There are ways to find your ovulation time either with an ovulation calculator or taking your basal body temperature (BBT) with a BBT thermometer or with the help of the calendar
To Get Pregnant.
To get pregnant therefore, keep having sex for about 3 days to 6 days prior and during the ovulation day. This will optimize chances of becoming pregnant. This is because the life span of the mature ovum after ovulation is usually between 6 to 12 hours only but can go up to 24 hours. In contrast the sperm generally survives for 3 days but can live up to 5 days if a favorable cervical mucus is present. The window time for conception therefore is very short. Having unprotected sex just before and during ovulation time therefore is the best time and way to get pregnant.
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