The Process of Pregnancy: From Intimate Relations to Fetus

Medical Video: Fertilization

Surely you already know, pregnancy occurs when sperm cells from a man meet an egg cell from a woman. This process is called conception or conception. But have you ever thought about how sperm cells and egg cells meet? This is not a simple process, it even takes a long time.

Many sperm cells enter the woman's body to reach the egg, but only one sperm can then fertilize the egg and since that time a pregnancy occurs. How did this complicated process occur? Let's discuss it.

Egg and sperm cells

To reach conception, two important elements that must be present are the egg and sperm.

Egg cells are produced by the ovaries or ovaries of women. Every month a woman will release a mature egg from one of the ovaries owned by a woman. This process is called ovulation. After the egg is released, the egg will pass through the fallopian tube (a channel that connects the ovary to the uterus) that has a length of about 10 cm to your uterus.

These eggs can on average survive up to 24 hours since they are released. So, at this time, sperm cells must fertilize the egg so that conception or pregnancy occurs. If there are no sperm that fertilize the egg, the egg cell will be destroyed and menstruation will occur.

Unlike women who release one egg each month, men can continue to work to produce sperm. It takes 2-3 months to form new sperm cells, then these sperm cells will live for several weeks in a man's body. When sperm is released or a man ejaculates, the sperm that can be released reaches 40 million. Yes, men's bodies regularly produce sperm throughout their lives, so that they can release as much sperm as they can. However, even though men are able to release as many as 40 million sperm every ejaculation, only one sperm can reach the female egg.

How does fertilization occur?

When you have sex with your partner, a man will reach orgasm and produce ejaculation. The ejaculation produced will push the semen that contains sperm into the woman's vagina to the cervix. This cement liquid provides food as a provision for sperm to travel, and can also provide direction for sperm.

The power of ejaculation gives an impulse to sperm an average of 10 ml per hour to reach the egg. Even though men need orgasm to release sperm, women don't need orgasm to make conception happen.

After the sperm enters a woman's body, the journey of the sperm looking for the egg to fertilize will begin. This is a long journey for sperm and is not easy to pass. There are various challenges to achieving success in fertilizing the egg. The first challenge, namely the acidic environment in the vagina that makes sperm unable to live long in the vagina and eventually die. The second challenge, namely cervical mucus. Only sperm have the strongest swimming ability that can penetrate this cervical mucus.

After successfully passing through the nets of the cervical mucus, the sperm must then swim about 18 cm from the cervix to the uterus, then to the fallopian tube to reach the egg. Sperm can get stuck or stray into the fallopian tube that is wrong, or can even die in the middle of a search. The average sperm is able to walk as long as 2.5 cm every 15 minutes. Sperm that is able to swim very quickly may be able to meet the egg in 45 minutes or if not, it can take up to 12 hours.

The sperm's journey has not been completed even though he has met the egg One egg may be approached by hundreds of sperm, but only the strongest sperm can penetrate the outer wall of the egg. When there is one sperm that is able to enter the egg to the nucleus of the egg, the egg forms self-defense to prevent other sperm from entering it. And finally, conception or conception occurs.

If the sperm is unable to meet the egg, the sperm can survive in a woman's body for up to 7 days. If a woman releases an egg at this time, the chance to get pregnant is still wide open. So, pay attention to the right time to have sex to reach pregnancy.

Then, what happens next?

The journey is not over. Although sperm has entered the egg, it does not mean that he has successfully achieved pregnancy.

After the sperm enters the egg and the egg forms self-defense, the genetic material between the sperm and the egg cell then merges. Well, the sex of your baby is determined from here. If a sperm that manages to fertilize an egg carries a Y chromosome, your baby will be a male sex. Meanwhile, if the sperm carries an X chromosome, your baby will be a female.

New cells with around 100 cells will form a bundle called the blastocyst. This blastocyst will then travel to the uterus, can take up to 3 days or more. In the womb, then the blastocyst will stick to the uterine wall (implantation) which will then develop into an embryo and placenta. This can take up to several weeks until you suspect that you are pregnant and the pregnancy test shows the same thing.

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