By ASTROGLIDE Team
Sexual health
Fertility is defined as “the ability to conceive,” and there are many factors that affect how fertility works, including your age, health, and cycle. Here are a few of the many factors that can affect how fertility works and what you need to know to take control of your own fertility.
A brief overview
We should all be familiar with the parts and components of the reproductive system, but how does fertility work when they are all put together? To know the best way to get pregnant, it is important to understand the different processes involved in conception. While this may seem like old news, knowing how things work and the influence of external factors on the reproductive system can help you take control of your fertility.
It all starts with four hormones, including follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), estrogen, and progesterone. The brain releases FSH and LH, which stimulates the start of the ovulation cycle. The ovaries begin to mature a woman’s eggs, when an increase in estrogen stimulates the movement of the egg from the ovary to the fallopian tube.
Once in the fallopian tubes, the body secretes progesterone, which then begins to develop into the lovely uterus that will ovulate every month. However, if the egg in the fallopian tube successfully meets a sperm and is fertilized, then the egg will fall into the uterus and find a place to develop for the next 9 months. Despite the nuisance of the monthly “flow”, the uterine wall provides an important bed of safety and nutrients for the embryo.
So now that we know the underlying mechanism and the key drivers, it’s important to understand how different factors affect this process and how fertility works. .
How does fertility work while you’re menstruating?
A commonly asked question is “Can I get pregnant during my period?” While this may be a pathway for teens hoping to get out of condom-free sex with little or no risk of pregnancy, it’s important to know how menstruation affects fertility. product like.
Experts agree that the chances of getting pregnant while on your period are low, but it’s still possible. A woman may start ovulating again just a few days after her period ends, depending on the length of her cycle. Sperm can live up to six days in a woman’s reproductive tract, depending on the case, including during menstruation. Therefore, if sperm is present, even from a date night a few nights before a woman starts ovulating a few days after her period, there is a small chance that the sperm will find a new egg and fertilize it.
For most women, depending on the length of the cycle, she is most fertile 4 to 5 days after her period because estrogen and progesterone are at their highest when they begin to rebuild the lining of the uterus. bow.
How does fertility work when you’re over 30?
“You’re better off starting now,” advises many women who choose to wait until adulthood before conceiving. Unfortunately, this claim may not be as subtle as the truth, and it seems that the concept of age is never mentioned in traditional lectures on how to get pregnant. Since a woman is born with all her eggs, the chances of getting pregnant are very limited. And with more and more women choosing to wait to conceive much later in life, it’s important to understand that unlike men, sperm quality and quantity are unaffected. age until later, women are born with biological clocks.
However, we are not only limited in the number of chances of conception, as women get older, the quality of their eggs also declines, reducing the ability of sperm to successfully fertilize an egg. This process begins when a woman turns 30 and declines sharply after the age of 35. The ovaries age and cycles begin to shorten, disrupting the normal ovulation cycle, causing fertility to decline over time. 30s and eventually 40s. Irregularities can also make ovulation harder to track and more difficult to conceive. While age can have one of the biggest effects on how fertility works, keep in mind that there are other methods that can help prolong this time for those who want to wait without delay. increases the risk of infertility.
How does fertility work under stress?
We always say that stress is bad for us and we need to take extra care to reduce our stress at any cost. While taking that extra yoga class and meditating for 30 minutes a day isn’t part of the traditional ‘how to get pregnant’ literature, effective stress management plays an important role in how it works. fertility. It is important to understand the actual physical effects of stress, especially on fertility.
So how does fertility work under stress? First, chronic stress affects the amount of cortisol and epinephrine (hormones that create and maintain the ‘fight or flight’ response) in your body. When this response is activated, the hypothalamus is damaged. This leads to irregular ovulation and makes it difficult for women to determine their most fertile days.
Additionally, several studies have identified a certain protein found in the wall of the uterus that is higher in women with significantly lower levels of chronic stress. These proteins play an important role in embryo implantation in the uterus and lead to much higher success rates for those trying to conceive using IVF.
Between a stronger endometrial lining and a more predictable, stable cycle, it’s no surprise that stress management techniques play an important role in how fertility works in women. women.
How does fertility work with birth control?
After years of trying not to get pregnant, the role of contraception has gone largely unheard of in understanding how to get pregnant when the time comes. With so many different types of birth control on the market, it can be difficult to know which might be best for your needs. In addition to traditional barrier methods, there are three types of birth control that directly affect the fertility cycle: the oral contraceptive pill (commonly referred to as the “pill”), other hormonal contraceptives, and the ring. contraception. So how does fertility work under the influence – past or present use – of these methods?
Birth control pills and other hormonal contraceptives involve delivering a dose of synthetic estrogen and progestin to completely disrupt the normal flow of hormones involved in the reproductive system. Also, depending on the type and brand, this method changes the lining of the uterus, preventing a fertilized embryo from implanting in the uterine wall.
It has been argued that such methods may interfere with a woman’s future fertility levels after prolonged use, but no studies have confirmed this to be the case. In fact, in addition to the Depo injection, women return to their pre-pregnancy fertility levels within a few days of stopping use. And in some cases, after stopping the pill, women actually experience a fertility spike a few days after their last dose.
An IUD, or IUD, is placed in the body to prevent ovulation. While these methods do not involve changing hormone levels in the body, they carry a risk of infection and possible sterilization due to pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) – although these side effects are rare. . Scientists suggest that, in many cases, PID is caused by STIs – not necessarily the device itself. Although there is a slight risk of infection, there is no evidence that the IUD has a negative impact on fertility in the long term.
When choosing birth control or switching, be sure to ask your doctor about the risks and any plans you may have for starting a family, even if those are as far as 5-10 years away. year.
How does fertility work with my man?
While women may have a more complex role in fertility, it takes two tries to actually conceive. So how is male fertility? The main purpose of the male reproductive system is to create and transport sperm to fertilize a woman’s egg.
With more than 100 million sperm per ejaculate, only 50% actually start moving through a woman’s reproductive tract about an hour after the crucial moment. As simple as it sounds, very few people actually reach the egg and only one person successfully fertilizes the egg. Perhaps this is a prime example of the survival of the fittest. However, if the sperm is not healthy enough to make the journey, this can cause fertility problems for a couple trying to get pregnant.
So what can your guy do to make sure his sperm is in great shape? Reducing stress, maintaining a healthy body weight, and reducing negative lifestyle behaviors like smoking and drinking have all been shown to increase sperm concentration and health.
Another great way to get great sperm motility is to use a sperm-friendly lubricant specifically designed to not interfere with sperm motility and pH balance, so you You can feel confident the next time you step into the bedroom.
What else would you like to know about how fertility works? Are there any other factors that you would like to know more about or have experience with? Let us know by tweeting us @ASTROGLIDE.
