Conception in a Nutshell

July 5, 2008 By admin

An egg is released from the ovary at around the 14th day of the woman’s cycle, and must be picked up by the fallopian tube.

Hormones produced in the woman’s ovary thin the cervical mocus, allowing the sperm to swin through the cervix, and into the womb and fallopian tubes.

Sperm survives up to 72 hours (three days) in the womb and fallopian tubes. Should intercourse take place at the time of ovulation, sperm will reach the egg in the fallopian tube. It only takes one sperm to fertilize the egg. The fertilized egg then travels down into the uterus where it is implanted in the womb’s lining.

Hormones from the ovary prepare the womb for receiving a fertilized egg. Once implanted, the hormone called progesterone maintains the pregnancy.

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