About Menstrual Cycle

Understand your menstrual cycle and how come a woman gets pregnant are important knowing your fertility. Menstruation is a release of the womb wall (endometrium), which along with bleeding and going in every month except during pregnancy. Menstruation that continue to occur every month called menstrual cycle. in the menstrual cycle, if fertilization does not occur, endometrium layer in the uterus will drop out the body.

Menstruation usually occurs at the age of 11 years and continuing until you take up to menopause (usually occurs around age 45 - 55 years). Normally, menstruation lasted for 3 - 7 days. Menstrual cycles generally occur periodically every 28 days (there is also every 21 days and 30 days). But some women do not have a regular cycle and this can be an indication of fertility problems.

The duration of menstrual cycle calculated from the first day of the menstruation period - where the day begins bleeding referred to as the first day and then counted up to the last day - that is 1 day before next menstrual bleeding starting next month.

At the beginning of the cycle, a gland in the brain releases a hormone called Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) into the bloodstream so that makes ovum cells are grown in the ovary. On the day 1 to day-to-14 going growth and development primary follicle being stimulated by this FSH hormone. On this seat, primary oosit cells will be split and produce haploid ovum. When follicle grow into matured follicle Graaf, this follicle also produce the estrogen hormone which stimulates secretion of LH from hipofisis. The work out estrogen has a function to stimulates the repair a of uterus wall named endometrium that is completed exfoliate during menstruation, besides estrogen prevent the formation of FSH and order hipofisis to produce LH that act to stimulate matured follicle Graaf to do ovulation, going on day-to-14. Around the time of a ovulation called the estrus phase.


Menstrual Cycle Hormones

In addition, LH stimulates follicle (immature ovum) that has been empty turns to yellow body (Corpus Luteum). Yellow body produces hormones that act progesterone thicken endometrium layer that is rich with the blood vessel to prepare for the arrival of fetus. This period is called luteal phase, besides that, progesterone also hindered the production of FSH and LH, a result korpus luteum wane and disappear, the establishment of progesterone stopped, so that the giving nutrition to endometriam stop running, endometrium becomes dry up and there will exfoliate and bleeding (menstruation) on the day to -28. This phase is called bleeding phase or menstrual phases. Because there is no progesterone, then began to produce more FSH and oogenesis recurred.

How come a woman gets pregnant?

A woman has 2 ovary where each store around 200,000 to 400,000 immature ovum / follicles. Normally, only one or a few cells of ovum that grow every menstruation period, and about 14 minutes before the next menstruation, when the ovum cell has been so mature, ovum cells are released from the ovary and then walk to the tube and fallopian to be fertilized. The process called the release "OVULATION".


Illustration : Menstrual Cycle

At the beginning of the cycle, a gland in the brain releases a hormone called Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) into the bloodstream so that makes ovum cells are grown in the ovary.. One or more of the ovum cells and then grow more quickly than other ovum cells and become dominant and then begin to produce the estrogen hormone that is released into the bloodstream. Estrogen hormone in cooperation with hormone FSH help the ovum cell which is dominant to grow and then give signal to the womb in order to prepare to receive the ovum cell. Estrogen hormone also produce more mucus in the vagina to help the sperm viability after the sexual intercourse.

When the ovum cell has matured, a hormone released from the brain called the Luteinizing Hormone (LH). This hormone released in multitudes and trigger release of a ovum cell that has been matured from the ovary to the fallopian tube. If at this time, a healthy sperm entering the fallopian tube, the ovum cell has a great opportunity to be fertilized. Immediately after the meeting beetween ovum cells and sperm or is called fertilization, the ovum cell split itself into two cells. The average time needed about 30 hours after the second ovulasi cells to grow into embryo cells. Embryo cell require several days to walk to the fallopian tube, reaching the womb and in the end "embed themselves" in the womb.

Both continue to split the cells themselves produce more cells, called blastomere. Approximately 60 hours after ovulation, a group of cells (a group of blastomere) or the morula containing about 12 to 16 blastomere from moving toward falopian uterus. Once entering the uterus, the growth of the baby immediately. Furthermore, the fetus naturally stick to the womb.

Then, ovum cells will be split up and produce a Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin (HCG) hormone that can be detected with pregnancy tester. Hormone helps embryo growth in the womb.

If the ovum cell that has been released is not fertilized, the endometrium is shed and the next menstruation occurred.