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Let us start at the beginning. A good way of increasing your chances of
getting pregnant is by knowing how everything works. I don't really want this
to sound like a biology lesson but it is really, it's the most important biology
lesson of all. So let us get down to the nitty gritty.

We often don't realize just what a complex process conception really is. Some
women manage it easily, others have more difficulty but for everyone the

process is the same. The male has to produce a sperm and the female has to
produce an egg which has to come together at just the right time and in just
the right place to give you the best possible chance of conceiving.
Each month a fertile woman's body follows the same process. There are two
ovaries which lie on each side of the uterus. These ovaries are glands which
store eggs in small sacs called follicles.

Each month one of the ovaries releases an egg which is picked up by the fine
hairs at the end of the fallopian tubes. The fallopian tubes connect the ovaries
to the uterus. If the egg has been fertilized it will travel to the uterus where it
will implant itself into the lining (the edometrium).
Each month the endometrium thickens ready to receive the fertilized egg. If
there is no fertilized egg, the edometrium breaks down and is shed from the
body.

For the egg to become fertilized it needs to be entered by a male sperm. Male
semen contains several million sperm but only one is needed for conception.
The sperm needs to travel into the uterus and along the fallopian tubes to
reach the egg and fertilize it.

The time when an egg is released from a woman's ovary is called ovulation
and at this time the cervix, which is the opening to the uterus becomes soft
and open to allow the sperm to pass through. The cervix is usually blocked by
cervical mucus but around ovulation this becomes thin enough for the
sperm to get through.

The sperm and egg usually meet in the fallopian tube where a single sperm
penetrates and fertilities the egg.
Once the fertilized egg has implanted in the endometrium it is sustained by
hormones until the developing placenta can take over and nourish the
pregnancy.

Learn more about this author, Anne Stone.
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