WOMEN AND THEIR HORMONES

WOMEN AND THEIR HORMONES

Hormones are chemical substances produced in the body that brings about changes we notice in our bodies.

Hormones bring about menstrual flow, ovulation, milk production, hair growth etc

What is ovulation: Ovulation is simply the release of egg from the ovary.

To calculate your ovulation.

credit

Once your period starts count day one, your menses might stop at 4-5day as case maybe keep counting till the 14th day, Textbook says ovulation can occur range of 12 -15thday from the first day of your menses

credit

The most important thing is to know the signs of ovulation

1. Sharp pain is noticed at the right or left part of your pelvic region depending on whether is right or left ovary that is ovulating.

The pain reduces with time

The pain is a sign that egg has been released

1. Nipple pain, happens to some women.

2. Whitish discharge like eggwhite that draws like okra. Note this discharge does not flow like menses, it comes like a stain on your underwear

3. Increase in body temperature (fever).

4. Longing to be touched or to have sex.

credit

Any unprotected sexual activity 12hrs or just as ovulation occurs can result to you having a male child While sexual activity 2-3days before ovulation can result to a female child,

credit

this is due to the fact that in a sperm, we have X and Y chromosomes, X is for female while Y is for male, X is bigger, slower and lives longer than Y which is more active but does not survive long, if the egg is already available or 12hrs to be released (not longer than 12hours) the Y sperm is most likely to fertilize the egg but 2-3days prior to ovulation X sperm will most likely fertilize the egg cos at that time Y sperm has become weak and inactive. This is called Shettles method

credit

and is 80-85% accurate for males and 75-80% accurate for females
credit

After ovulation, the site where the egg ruptured will start growing Corpus luteum cyst

Note that before ovulation the eggs produce a hormone called estrogen which acts on endomentrium and thickens it, it also makes the cervical muscle to relax thereby permitting entrance of sperm to uterus,
So after ovulation the estrogen production stops due to ovarian rupture, once the corpus luteum starts growing at the site where ovulation occurred, progesterone will be secreted.

credict

The progesterone helps to prepare the uterus for possible implantation that's if one becomes pregnant.

It also sustains the pregnancy, makes sure that spontaneous abortion does not occur.
It increases the contractility of cervical muscles making it impossible for sperm to enter hence the reason why is called dry period.
If pregnancy does not occur, progesterone level reduces thereby causing menstrual flow, this is simply due to constriction of uterine arteries that supplies the functional layer of the endometrium, allowed it to be sloughed or reabsorbed, the basal layer helps to regenerate the functional layer after menstruation.

If pregnancy occurs, human chorionic gonadotropin that's a hormone produced by the developing embryo will give a feed back information to the corpus luteum to keep producing progesterone so that menses does not occur, Uterine arteries will keep supplying blood to the endomentrium and it keep developing and increasing and later becomes a decidua (placenta). The corpus luteum will keep producing progesterone Till the production of progesterone is taken over by the placenta at around 2months of pregnancy.

What a woman test for in urine or blood pregnancy test is human chorionic gonadotropin

[credit](https://www.google.co.uk/search?client=ms-android-tecno&tbs=isz%3Al&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=IMYyWo_zNIWyaaKFhMgJ&sjs=14335&q human+chorionic+gonadotropin&oq=human+chorionic+gonadotropin&gs_l=mobile-gws-img.3..0l5.72655.91108..91550.......1594.20156.2-5j8j10j3j2j4j2............mobile-gws-wiz-img.....3..35i39j0i67j0i8i30j0i24.LFSp3%2BfdQMo%3D#imgdii=RYNWPqfrvQAIVM:&imgrc=LxOgZSydAIiiYM:)

A hormone produced by the developing embryo, if postive is an evidence of pregnancy, if negative, it shows absence of pregnancy

credit