Egg maturation and fertilization

The female germ cell (ovule) ripens and is in the ovaries. Its structure and functions are subject to the eternal natural process of reproduction of the species. In order for the egg to fully fulfill its functions, it contains inclusions of proteins and fats that feed the cell at the initial stage of the formation of a living organism. This stage is called a zygote - a tandem of the female and male sex cells. Until the moment of attachment to the uterus and getting full nutrition from the mother's body, the egg provides the nutrition of the fetus.

The core of the egg contains 23 chromosome sexes. The other twenty-three give her a sperm.

Maturation of the egg occurs in the follicle. Interestingly, the first such follicles begin to form in a female child still in the mother's womb at about the twelfth week. Over time, their number is rapidly increasing, and then shrinking. Thus, in utero there may be up to seven million, but by the time of the onset of the first menstrual period, there remain only three hundred thousand.

The woman's body is arranged so that the number of follicles does not increase, they only age and die. By the age of thirty-five, they contain only twenty-five thousand, and in the period of menopause - about a thousand. That's why pregnancy after thirty-five is problematic, because the maturation of eggs in its kind is limited, although it is possible.

During the entire period of life, mature eggs, capable of fusion with the spermatozoon and further maturation, are formed only in an amount of four hundred to five hundred pieces. The rest of the eggs die. This is a normal process. After all, the maturation of the egg can not be plural - the pregnancy of twins and triplets is considered a rarity and luck, and a greater number of children carried at one time is considered a record. Thus, nature regulates the birth rate.

The formation of an egg is a complex multi-level process. At the first stage there is a multiplication of follicles - it is laid in the girl still in utero. The second stage is the growth of follicles. They grow all the time before puberty begins. The third period is the maturation of the egg. For the period of each menstrual cycle in the female body one egg is ripe, rarely two or three. This phenomenon is called superovulation. In this case, the possibility of developing twins or triplets is great.

Since the reproductive function of a child is laid in the womb of the mother, the mother is responsible for the future of her daughter. If the mother will take alcohol, smoke, use drugs, suffer from sexual infection, then such a burden can negatively affect the sexual health of the girl who has not yet appeared.

Maturation of the egg in the follicle occurs in this way. Every month the follicle grows, a cavity with a liquid appears inside it, and a tubercle with an ovum emerges inside this cavity. The follicle is quite large in its mature state - about two centimeters in diameter. When the follicle ripens, it bursts and an egg leaves it. The output of the egg is called ovulation - it is "trapped" by couples who can not become pregnant. Since the egg itself lives for about a day, the couple who want children should ensure that the egg and sperm meet as soon as possible so that fertilization takes place. If this time there is no fertilization, then we will have to wait another month - the period of maturation of the egg.

If the process of meeting the egg and sperm has been successful, the signs of fertilization of the egg will soon be felt. The hormonal system will work hard, the zygote will attach to the uterus, the menstrual period will stop, and pregnancy will begin.

Women planning a pregnancy should remember that the maturation of the egg is a very delicate and sensitive process. Do not get upset if this did not happen in the first months of a stable sexual life with a partner. This is not a reason to talk about infertility. There are anovulatory cycles, when the egg does not ripen at all - the body rests. Only after a year of a joint regular sexual life is it necessary to undergo a medical examination and, if necessary, begin treatment.