Where do Eggs come from? Part 3

We'll start with cycle day 14. This is the textbook perfect day of ovulation. The day of ovulation that varies and determines when the period will start. So if a woman has cycles that change in number of days, it is the number of days between menstruation and ovulation that varies. The number of days between ovulation and menstruation does not usually change. The ovaries have been working, from day 1 to mature follicles into eggs. They have been stimulated by Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) from the pituitary gland in the brain.

There are usually several follicles being primed for ovulation each month. By day 14, the body has chosen one (sometimes more) dominant follicle to release. It's much bigger that the other follicles that are maturing, and the rest give up the race. The follicle is triggered to release the egg by a spike in Luteinizing Hormone (LH surge) from the pituitary gland. An ovulation test kit measures the urine for this usually high amount of LH. The follicle bursts and releases the egg, which causes some women to feel some pain or a little bit of bleeding. The egg that is released goes into the fallopian tube and journeys towards the uterus.

So how can a woman tell when she is fertile? You may know of someone who has been trying to get pregnant that takes their temperature every morning. Around ovulation time, the Basal Body Temperature (BBT) of a woman should go up as well. Cervical mucous will also change, becoming more stretchy. This is to help the sperm with their journey towards the eggs.

In most cases, the egg does not fertilize and the corpus luteum degenerates. If the egg does fertilize, the embryo secretes a hormone that keeps the corpus luteum around and secreting progesterone, which keeps the endometrium thick to support the embryo.

Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine have been used to improve the quality of eggs (which generally goes down as a woman ages), and to create a thicker endometrium (required for implantaion of the embryo). It's also being used to address a number of other factors that may come up when dealing with fertility. Infertility treatment is a very exciting specialty in the field of Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine because there is currently a lot of research in the area, and efficacy rates are very good, especially when compared to Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART), like In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), and Intra-Uterine Insemination (IUI). Visit www.AcuSpaWellness.com for more info on Acupuncture & IVF.