What is Ovulation?
Ovulation is an integral part of a woman’s menstrual cycle. Though it occurs about midway in the cycle, which begins on the first day of a woman’s period, it affects the entire cycle. However, ovulation can be split into an accelerated time of activity before an egg is released from an ovary, and a time of deceleration, after the egg or ovum is released. As a woman begins her period, her body is in the follicular phase of ovulation. The body, or more specifically, the hypothalamus gland, recognizes this pre-ovulation state and releases hormones to the pituitary gland. On receiving these signals, the pituitary gland produces a hormone called follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), which will allows follicles in an ovary to start maturing into an egg. During ovulation, generally only one egg is released. Even though several follicles along the ovaries may begin to mature, only one ovum actually will be released during ovulation. The rest of the stimulated follicles simply disintegrate. Once
Ovulation is a phase in the menstrual cycle. It occurs at about day 14 of a 28-day menstrual cycle. Specifically, ovulation is the release of the egg (ovum) from a woman’s ovary. Each month, between days 6 and 14 of the menstrual cycle, follicle-stimulating hormone causes follicles in one of a woman’s ovaries to begin to mature. However, during days 10 to 14, only one of the developing follicles forms a fully mature egg. At about day 14 in the menstrual cycle, a sudden surge in luteinizing hormone causes the ovary to release its egg and begin its 5-day travel through a narrow, hollow structure called the fallopian tube to the uterus. As the egg is traveling through the fallopian tube, the level of progesterone, another hormone, rises, which helps prepare the uterine lining for pregnancy.
Ovulation is a part of a woman’s reproductive cycle in which an egg is released by a mature ovarian follicle in order to travel down the fallopian tubes towards the uterus. Understanding the process of ovulation and your particular reproductive cycle can help you plan your pregnancy more effectively. The first part of ovulation is the follicular phase, which takes place from the first day of a woman’s period to her next ovulation. The process by which an ovarian follicle matures actually takes a little over a year — your body is constantly preparing eggs for ovulation. During this process, the brain’s hypothalamus produces two hormones: luteinizing hormone (LH) and the follicle stimulating hormone. These hormones prepare the follicle and stimulate it to release the egg when it is mature. Once ovulation has occurred, the process shifts to the luteal phase, which continues until the next menstruation. A woman is most fertile for the few days leading up to and day of ovulation, so it is c
Ovulation is the release of a single, mature egg from the ovarian follicle. The human ovary produces a multitude of ova during the course of a month, largest of which is expelled into the pelvic cavity and swept into the Fallopian tube. Ovulation does not follow a regular pattern between ovaries each cycle and which ovary releases the egg is fairly arbitrary. Once released, the egg is capable of being fertilized for 12 to 24 hours before it begins to disintegrate. If the released ovum or egg is fertilized and successfully implants, it results in pregnancy. If the egg is not fertilized, it is passed from the reproductive tract during menstrual bleeding, which starts about two weeks after ovulation. Occasionally, cycles occur in which an egg is not released; these are called anovulatory cycles. Note that you can get your period even though you are not ovulating. Your ability to ovulate can vary from month to month. Ovulation – The Hormones During ovulation, two ovarian hormones, oestradi
