If you are experiencing a problem getting pregnant, then understanding the intricacies of what it takes to achieve a fertilised egg is of prime importance.

During ovulation, when the egg comes out of the ovarian wall it will normally be taken into the fallopian tube. Within seconds, the fimbria (the end of the fallopian tube) will snatch the egg up and draw it inside the tube. If an is not fertilised it will only remain alive for a maximum of twenty four hours after which it dies and is absorbed by the body, or it disintegrates and comes out with the flow of the menstrual period. To give you an idea of scale, each eggs is around the same size as this full stop.

When an ovum is fertilised, this usually takes place within a short time after ovulation occurs, and will actually be done in the fallopian tube. This is against the popular misconception that fertilisation takes place inside the uterus. It can take even a couple of hours for the sperm to reach the egg in the fallopian tubes. Once an egg has been fertilised there are vibrating, tiny hairs called cilia which draw the egg back into the uterus. It will take as much as a weeks time for the egg to finally get to the uterus and to start to burrow into the lining.

For couples who are having aproblem getting pregnant there is a crucial point to understand and that is that a fertilised egg requires three things: the egg (of course) and the sperm, and the very special medium which will allow the sperm and egg to traverse the hostile vaginal atmosphere in safety.

The medium required is a special type of cervical fluid, often referred to as ‘eggwhite cervical mucus’ because of its resemblance to eggwhites. It is this cervical fluid which will allows the sperm to travel to the cervix in safety and unite with the waiting egg. This amazing fertile mucus is produced with rising levels of oestrogen in the first part of the cycle, and is at its best at the time of ovulation. This fertile fluid allows sperm to survive inside for as long as five days - so its completely possible that a naughty night out on Saturday can get you pregnant at your office desk on Wednesday!

As it would be a total disaster for a pregnant body if the lining of the uterus were to disintegrate as it usually does in normal cycles, the body does an amazing trick and stops this from happening. When a fertilised egg burrows into the lining of the uterus, the body starts producing a hormone called Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) which prevents this from happening. It does this by sending a message to the ‘corpus luteum’ or the nourishing lining, and tells it to remain alive. After a couple of months the corpus luteum is relieved of its job by the placenta, which will maintain the uterus lining and continue nourishing and providing oxygen to the foetus.

False-negative pregnancy tests are usually received if the test has been done too soon, because the whole process can take a while, and the test is measuring HCG, so if it hasn’t been produced yet, the test will come back negative even if an egg is fertilised. When women chart their cycles, they are more likely to know when a pregnancy has occurred from the first point of implantation because of the notable changes in the cycle.

If a couple is having a problem getting pregnant, knowing the intricacies of what it takes to fertilise an egg can really help, especially as contrary to what every mum tells her teenage daughter, sometimes it actually isn’t that easy to get pregnant.

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Tags: Fertility

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