A woman is born with all the eggs she'll ever have. A woman is born with over a million eggs in her ovaries. By the time she reaches puberty, she'll have about 300,000 left. Of these eggs, only about 300 will mature and be  released during her reproductive years. All of her eggs are stored in her ovaries. The hormones she needs for menstruation and to become pregnant are produced by her hypothalamus, pituitary, and ovaries.
	It's all about the cycle. A woman's monthly menstrual cycle drives her ability to conceive. The cycle begins on the first day of a woman's period and typically lasts about 28 days.  The first day begins not when she is spotting, but when she experiences regular flow.
	The cycle is then divided into two distinct phases: (1) Follicular Phase: days 1 - 14        During the first 13 days of her cycle, follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) stimulates the        development of a fluid-filled sac called a follicle in one of her ovaries. This follicle then         produces a single mature egg. While this is happening,  the follicle secretes estrogen         the follicle secretes estrogen which prepares the cervical mucus at the entrance of her         uterus to receive sperm. The endometrium (lining of the uterus) also begins to         thicken during this phase.         A surge in luteinizing hormone (LH) facilitates the final step of the maturation of the egg         and, on about the 14th day, triggers ovulation. The egg is released from one of her         ovaries and travels down a fallopian tube. When a couple has intercourse, a man's         sperm attempts to swim past the cervical mucus and into the fallopian tube where it can         fertilize the egg. The optimal days for conception are the ones just before and after         ovulation, generally days 11 – 17. (2) Luteal Phase: days 15 - 28 Following ovulation, the hormones progesterone and estrogen develop and maintain the endometrium for receiving a fertilized egg. If the egg is fertilized, the embryo travels down the fallopian tubes to implant itself in the endometrium on about the 20th day of the cycle. Here it will develop into a fetus. If the egg isn't fertilized, it passes through a woman's body on about the 26th day. The uterus then sheds its lining and a woman's period begins, starting a new menstrual cycle. It is important to realize that not all women have 28-day cycles. Therefore, the specific days of your Follicular and Luteal phases may be different. For more information, speak to your healthcare provider or call Fertility LifeLines™ at 1-866-LETS-TRY (1-866-538-7879). Return

Think you may be pregnant? If you haven't confirmed your suspicions with a home pregnancy test, you may present some of the following signs and symptoms that can tell you that you are expecting. But be wary, early pregnancy symptoms are very similar to the symptoms you'll get prior to the onset of menstruation.

Nausea & Vomiting

Nausea and vomiting may come as early as a week into the pregnancy. Many women experience illness in the morning, some in the afternoon or evening, others feel nausea throughout the entire day. There is no explanation as to why pregnant women feel this or even a solution as to how to prevent it, although studies have linked this occurrence to the increase of progesterone present during a pregnancy.

Breast Tenderness

Breasts may be very tender, swollen and start to enlarge. Many times the veins within the breast will become more visible. Your nipples may start to darken in color, become more erect and be extremely sensitive. These symptoms are due to increasing amount of HCG hormone that begins at implantation.

Appetite

As the fetus grows, so does your appetite. You may experience cravings for certain foods. But by contrast certain foods and smells may become repulsive for you. Fried foods is an example.

Frequent Urination

Pregnancy causes the uterus to swell and it will start to enlarge for the growing fetus immediately. The uterus puts pressure on your bladder making you feel the need for more frequent urination. Many women start to feel this symptom within a week or two after pregnancy has occurred.

Exhaustion

This one is pretty obvious. When pregnant your body is going through some major hormonal changes. HCG levels alone go from 0 - 250,000 mIU/ml in just twelve weeks. Your temperature is also higher due to the amount progesterone circulating through your body which will also make you feel a little sluggish.

Implantation Spotting

Spotting may occur approximately 8 - 10 days from ovulation. It usually happens around the same time you would have gotten your menstrual period. Some women assume they have started their period when in fact they are pregnant. The spotting is caused from implantation which is when the fertilized egg burrows into the endometrial lining. It is usually pink in nature and isn't enough to soak a pad.

Dizziness

When standing in one place you may feel dizzy or even faint. The growing uterus compresses major arteries in your legs which causes your blood pressure to drop making you extremely light headed. Skipping meals or going too long without eating may cause you to feel dizzy or faint. When not eating frequently enough it causes low blood sugar. Blood sugar is the primary source of food for your baby so it will be depleted much more quickly.

Constipation

Pregnancy hormones will slow down bowel functions to give maximum absorption time of vitamins and nutrients. Unfortunately, this symptom usually only gets worse as the pregnancy progresses. Mood Swings The altered hormone levels in pregnancy cause changes in emotional states. There seems to be a general pattern common for most women as to extreme changes in mood. Irritability and crying a lot seem to be the most common.

Mood Swings

The altered hormone levels in pregnancy cause changes in emotional states. There seems to be a general pattern common for most women as to extreme changes in mood. Irritability and crying a lot seem to be the most common.

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Dieting Moms Can Increase Chances of Obese Child!

Your health care professionals have probably told you that pregnancy is not the time to go on a diet. This is a time in your life when you more than ever need to watch what you eat, not too much and not too little. Gaining too much weight is also bad! Now there is even more studies suggesting a link between dieting mothers and obese children.

A newly published research, by Kyoto University, is published in Cell Metabolism and this study suggests that prenatal under-nutrition does have long term impact and can increase the chance of children becoming obese.

Scientists believe they may have discovered why a poor diet during pregnancy appears to raise the chances of having an obese child. Research on mice shows the offspring of underfed mothers experience a premature surge of the appetite-controlling hormone leptin shortly after birth. Experts believe this surge remodels key brain circuits, disrupting the way the body regulates energy intake. The research, by Kyoto University, is published in Cell Metabolism.

There is now quite a lot of data to show that pre-natal under-nutrition does have a long-term impact on many disease states Dr Simon Langley-Evans Leptin is a hormone produced by fat that appears to play an important role in keeping food intake and energy expenditure in balance, so weight is maintained at a steady level. It is released when a person has eaten enough food to meet their needs, suppressing appetite and producing the feeling of "satiety", or fullness. It does this by bonding with receptors in an area of the brain called the hypothalamus.

Injections of the hormone given to morbidly obese people have helped them to shed weight. However, research has also shown that some obese people appear to be resistant to the hormone's effects, despite having high concentrations in their bloodstream. Evidence has also suggested that a neonatal surge of leptin, which occurs early in the life of newborns, may play an important role in the formation of energy-regulating brain circuits in the hypothalamus. In the latest study, mice born of mothers who ate 30% less than normal were small at birth and had less fat. However, the under-nourished newborns caught up with normal mice after 10 days and, when fed a high-fat diet, developed pronounced weight gain and increased leptin levels compared to normal mice on the same diet. The under-nourished mice had lower body temperatures than normal mice - suggesting they had been programmed to conserve energy.

Analysis showed that the surge in leptin levels occurred six to eight days earlier than normal in the under-nourished animals. When the researchers mimicked that premature leptin surge by administering the hormone to normally-fed mice, those animals also became prone to obesity upon eating a diet high in fat. The researchers found premature exposure to a leptin surge seemed to impair the body's ability to transport the hormone around the brain. They also found these mice were more likely to have abnormalities in the hypothalamus. Researcher Dr Shingo Fujii said: "The present study suggests that a premature surge of leptin as a result of foetal under-nourishment can alter energy regulation by the brain and contribute to developmental origins of health and disease." Dr Simon Langley-Evans, an expert in human nutrition at Nottingham University, said: "This theory is very feasible. There is now quite a lot of data to show that prenatal under-nutrition does have a long-term impact on many disease states." He said animal studies had shown that the pre-natal diet had a profound impact on later eating behaviour. For instance, rats fed a low protein diet in the womb showed a heightened desire to eat fat. Other research had shown that a low protein diet led to changes in the density and type of cells in the hypothalamus.

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