What is ovulation!

The answer to the question "What is ovulation" will only be important while trying to conceive or, ironically, if you do not want to conceive.

Ovulation, the time of releasing a matured egg, an ovum, from the ovarian follicle. For a woman, this presents her fertile phase and only lasts about 24 hours. An egg (or eggs in some cases) is released once a cycle.

Infertility in females may very often present with cycle problems, so this information is extremely important when investigating infertility in women. Many comply to a normal cycle, but some have unique cycles depending on conditions experienced in that month.

What is ovulation, without hormones?

There are four primary reproductive hormones: FSH, Estrogen, LH and Progesterone. They work in harmony to release and protect the egg.

The primary factor that determines how long it will take before you ovulate is how soon your body reaches an estrogen threshold.

During every cycle, a few ovarian follicles begin to mature, and will develop under the influence of pituitary hormones. Normally one follicle will develop fully and the others will recede. The follicle grows and secretes increasing amounts of the hormone, estrogen. At peak estrogen production, there is a surge of luteinizing hormone (LH). The LH surge triggers the release of the mature egg from its follicle. Once the egg is released and travels down the fallopian tube, fertilization can take place.

Once a woman ovulates, the lifespan of the egg is between 12 and 24 hours. After this timeframe, the egg (ovum) begins to degenerate and will not be capable of being fertilized. Fertilization must take place within this time frame. If sperm is deposited shortly before the egg is released, or just afterward, fertilization is still possible.

Sperm can survive in the female reproductive tract for up to 72 hours. Therefore sperm deposited prior to this event will survive long enough for conception to take place. The fertile time period is then considered immediately before and at the time of ovulation.

Following the release of the egg from the ovary, the follicle that held the egg collapses on itself, becoming a "corpus luteum". This remains behind on the interior ovarian wall and starts releasing progesterone. The corpus luteum has a finite life span of about 12 to 16 days, with an average length being about 12 days.

What happens after ovulation?

Progesterone, the hormone released by the corpus luteum, is incredibly important for a woman's fertility because it does three things:

1. Prevents the release of all other eggs for that cycle
2. Causes the uterine lining (endometrium) to thicken and sustain itself until the corpus luteum disintegrates 12 to 16 days later.
3. Causes the three primary fertility signs to change. These signs are waking temperature, cervical fluid, and cervical position.

In a small percentage of women, two or more eggs are released when you ovulate, but always within a 24 hour period. This is termed multiple ovulation, and is responsible for fraternal twins or triplets. The reason that more eggs cannot be released later that cycle is due to the powerful effects of progesterone. Progesterone quickly stops the release of all other eggs until the next cycle.

Illustrated below are the three major differences between male and female fertility, which is now evident:

Knowing when you ovulate is not as easy as one would assume. This period for women is quite small and if sperm is not available at this precise time, then conception will not take place.

Should pregnancy take place, the corpus luteum will continue to produce progesterone, and the body will subsequently produce Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG), the pregnancy hormone, necessary for sustaining the developing fetus.

Causes of infertility is often due to ovulation disorders. What happens before, during and after you ovulate is critical information during your infertility phase.

What is ovulation - the release of the egg and the fertile phase.

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