Understanding Female Menstrual Cycle
For the couples who are trying for pregnancy, one of the first things you should do is ensure you understand the menstrual cycle.
The menstural cycle is divided into 3 phases-
1). Follicular phase- maturing the egg. ( day 1-13 )
2). Ovulatory phase- releasing the egg. ( approx. day -14 )
3). Luteal phase- preparing for conception.( day 15- 28 )
- Ovarian follicles can be thought of as tiny little cases in the ovaries that hold immature eggs. Many of the two million eggs women are born with are reabsorbed by the body during childhood, so by the time of puberty, women are left with around 400,000 to 500,000 eggs.
- Women has taken birth with fixed number of eggs, they need to finish there reproductive cycle with those available eggs only, before they get depleted. At Menopause women is left with around 1000 eggs.
- Hormones trigger follicles to grow during the follicular phase.
- In a natural cycle, normally only one dominant follicle goes on to mature fully and release an egg.
