by Mary Paliescheskey

Created on: April 07, 2007   Last Updated: April 16, 2007

In order to understand ovulation and conception, you must consider the whole menstrual cycle. The first day of your period, when you see red blood, is counted as day 1. The first two weeks after your period are the time that the uterus prepares for ovulation and the possibility of conception. A woman's body builds up the endometrial tissue that would be needed by the fetus. If conception doesn't take place then the egg and endometrial tissue are cleaned out to start the whole process over again. The process ending in pregnancy would be as follows.

Ovulation is the process by which an egg is released from the ovaries. This happens in the middle of your menstrual cycle. If you are trying to conceive a baby, then knowing when you ovulate is very important. While ovulation happens around day 14 of your menstrual cycle, normal changes in your stress level will cause variations in the length of your cycle. Therefore, in order to find your fertility window, you will need to track the physical changes that indicate ovulation.

Observing changes in your cervical mucus is an excellent way to judge when ovulation is ready to occur. Cervical mucus increases and changes from sticky to slippery just prior to and during ovulation. Cervical mucus actually helps the sperm stay alive longer in a woman's body-up to five days. Tracking the changes in cervical mucus on a calendar will help you find your fertile window. Fertile cervical mucus looks like raw egg whites. The mucus changes 1-2 days before ovulation.

Basal temperature is the most reliable physical sign of ovulation. The resting body temperature rises 0.5 to 1.5 degrees. Ovulation causes the spike in temperature by causing the release of progesterone. Therefore, the rise in basal temperature is after ovulation has taken place. You cannot use the current month's basal temperature chart to predict ovulation because ovulation has already happened by the time you see the rise in body temperature. Basal temperature is used the track your menstrual cycle over several months. This would allow you to predict when your ovulation is likely to happen. Your most fertile time would be two days before your temperature rise.

In order for conception to occur, several events need to happen. One would think that all that needs to happen is for the sperm to find the egg. However, the egg still needs to implant into the uterine wall.

After the egg is released from the ovaries, it lives for only 24 hours. The sperm must meet the egg in the fallopian tube in order for conception to take place. One sperm makes contact and the fusion of egg and sperm results in a free floating zygote. This is conception. However, the zygote isn't yet viable. In order for pregnancy to proceed, the zygote must implant into the endometrium.

The zygote begins the division process as it travels down the fallopian tube. This journal can take several days to as long as a week. The newly formed embryo implants itself and begins to form the placenta and umbilical chord. Pregnancy has been achieved!

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