Your menstrual cycle

Today is the first day of your menstrual cycle. Your menstrual cycle begins on the first day that you have red bleeding, not spotting. To determine your cycle length you will need to record your menstrual periods on a calendar and then count from the first day of one cycle to the first day of the next cycle. During the first half of your cycle, known as the follicular phase of your cycle, estrogen and progesterone levels are low. Low levels of estrogen and progesterone are what signal your body to shed the lining of your uterus and begin menstruation.

The low estrogen levels at the start of your menstrual cycle, tell your pituitary gland to start releasing a hormone called Gn ! "gonadotropin releasing hormone#. Gn ! is a hormone involved in the fertility cycle that stimulates the production of two other important hormones, $%! and L!. $%!, or follicle stimulating hormone, stimulates the follicles inside your ovaries to start preparing several eggs for

ovulation. &ach follicle is home to an egg. The eggs will stay inside the follicles growing and maturing until it is time for you to ovulate but, only one egg will be released during ovulation.

Your period may be coming to an end soon. ' typical menstrual period lasts for around ()* days. The amount of bleeding and the length of time menstruation lasts varies from woman to woman. $or most women, the ma+ority of bleeding occurs during the first three days of menstruation and is followed by light spotting. ,f your period lasts longer than a week, if you have very heavy periods where you are soaking through a pad every -). hours, if you have bleeding in between your periods, or if you have menstrual cramping that is disrupting your life, you may want to consult your doctor.

You may still be having some spotting from your period ending, but while this is happening your hormones are also trying to prepare your body for ovulation. $ollicles in your ovaries, with the help of $%!, are nurturing eggs for ovulation. 's the follicles mature, they produce estrogen. &strogen helps to build up the lining of your uterus. ,t also causes changes in the cervix. /nder the influence of estrogen, the cervix softens, opens up, and secretes slippery cervical mucous that aids and nurtures the sperm as it travels to reach the egg.

The menstrual cycle is divided into three phases0 the follicular phase, ovulation, and the luteal phase. ight now you are in the first half of your cycle the follicular phase, which starts with menstruation and ends +ust before ovulation. %omething you may not know is that the length of the follicular phase of a woman1s cycle can vary from month to month and from woman to woman, but the luteal phase is pretty much the same length every month for every woman, give or take a day or two. To determine how long your follicular phase and luteal phase is you can record your body temperatures on a fertility chart.

%ince having a new baby costs money, you may want to start setting up your baby budget now. 2nce you have an idea how much you will need for your baby including furniture, clothing, gear, and feeding supplies, you can start saving for your future baby. ,f you try to purchase all the baby e3uipment you might need all at once, you might find the expense overwhelming, but if you start planning your budget now, before you1re even pregnant, you can actually be prepared for your new pregnancy and baby. You may not want to do any shopping +ust yet, but a savings account for your new baby might come in handy.

%ince you are trying to conceive, you may be trying to eat a healthier diet. 4hat should you be including in your preconception diet5 'ccording to researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health, diet does matter when it comes to fertility. ' diet low in trans fats and sugar from carbohydrates is recommended. ,n addition, protein from vegetable sources may be better for fertility. 2ther dietary recommendations include eating more fiber, iron)rich foods, and taking a multivitamin. Dairy products, both high fat and low fat, may also be good for your fertility.

4hen it comes to trying to conceive, you are probably most focused on what you should be doing or not doing, but what about your guy5 ,s there anything that your partner needs to know before you conceive5 671s preconception checklist for men includes all the things men need to know about before trying to conceive. ,f your partner1s lifestyle is not so healthy, he may want to work on this now. %ome things he can do to improve his fertility and the chance of fathering a healthy baby include 3uitting smoking or drinking, losing weight if needed, or avoiding exposure to ha8ardous substances.

's your developing follicles release estrogen they tell your body that ovulation is approaching. !igh estrogen levels, once they reach a certain point, will trigger your body to release a surge of another hormone called L!, or Luteini8ing !ormone. 4hen L! surges it causes one of the follicles to release an egg, resulting in ovulation. 9ow, even though several eggs develop during the follicular phase, only one of them will be released. The follicle housing this egg is called the dominant follicle. The dominant follicle represses the growth of the other follicles and the other follicles will disintegrate.

Using an ovulation prediction kit "or 2:;# can increase your chances of getting pregnant by helping predict when ovulation is most likely to occur. 2:;s detect L! in your urine. L! is always present in your body. 6ust before you ovulate though, your L! levels will surge. ' positive result occurs when your L! levels rise above a certain threshold. /nlike a home pregnancy test, two lines on an 2:; does not indicate a positive result. ' positive result occurs only when the test line is darker than the control line. You can expect to ovulate about -.)(< hours after you have a positive opk.

,f you have +ust started trying to conceive there are a few things you should know about before your get pregnant. You may want to schedule a preconception exam with your doctor and go over any health concerns or family history. ,f you have not 3uit smoking or drinking alcohol, now would be the time to stop. ,f you need help 3uitting, talk to your doctor. You should also start taking a prenatal or multivitamin that contains at least =>>mcg of folic acid. The ?D? urges all women who are trying to conceive or could become pregnant to take folic acid because it is one of the best defenses against neural tube birth defects.

The gender of your baby is determined by your baby1s sperm. $emale sperm live longer but are slower moving. 7ale sperm are faster but do not live as long. To try to conceive a boy, intercourse close to ovulation is recommended. For a girl, intercourse should be as far away from ovulation as possible but close enough that the sperm will survive. %perm can live for up to five days inside a woman1s body. Your egg, on the other hand, only lives for a day or less. Your fertile window is based on these factors. ,t lasts for six days and includes the five days leading up to ovulation and the day of ovulation.

You may be noticing some signs of ovulation now including an increase in cervical mucous, ovulation pain, spotting, or moodiness. @efore you ovulate you may begin noticing mucous in the lining of your underwear. %ome women mistake this as a sign of infection, but it is perfectly normal and a good way to determine when you are most fertile. Your cervical mucous will 3uickly dry up after you ovulate. Try to continue having intercourse until your cervical fluid becomes dry and you no longer feel a wet sensation or until you are sure you have ovulated. 2ne way to confirm ovulation is with a bbt chart.

You should be ovulating soon. ,f you want to maximi8e your chances of getting pregnant you should try to have intercourse as often as possible on the day before ovulation and the day of ovulation. %ince ovulation is sometimes tricky to predict, it is recommended that couples that are trying to get pregnant should have regular sex three times a week. ,f you have regular sex you are more likely to have intercourse during your fertile window. %ome other tips for getting pregnant faster include having en+oyable sex, avoiding alcohol and drugs, and taking a prenatal vitamin.

'ccording to your typical cycle length, you should be ovulating today. This is also called your peak day. The L! surge caused your egg to burst through the follicle in your ovary and it will begin to travel through your fallopian tube towards your uterus. ,f your partner1s sperm has made its way to your fallopian tube, your egg may be fertili8ed today. &ven though you may have ovulated today, you can1t identify your peak day until after it has occurred. Your peak day is the last day you will notice fertile cervical mucous. 2bserving when your cervical mucous has changed from slippery to dry will help you to know if you have ovulated.

2nce your egg bursts from the follicle that was housing it, what is left of the follicle becomes what is known as the corpus luteum. The corpus luteum produces progesterone which is necessary for a healthy pregnancy. ,f your egg is fertili8ed, the embryo will produce a hormone called h?G "human chorionic gonadotropin#. 4ithout h?G the corpus luteum only survives for a short time, around -.)-= days. 2nce it disintegrates, progesterone production drops and your next menstrual cycle will begin. !owever, if the corpus luteum receives h?G, it will continue making progesterone until the placenta takes over progesterone production at around ten weeks gestation.

$ertili8ation takes place inside the fallopian tube. ,f you conceived this cycle, your egg has already been fertili8ed. Your fallopian tube is actually helping to transport your egg through your tube and into your uterus. 4hen you ovulate your fallopian tube rhythmically contracts. These contractions help to push the egg along. The fallopian tube also has little hair like pro+ections called cilia. The rhythmic contractions of your tube and the movement of the cilia inside your tube help to move your egg through your fallopian tube all the way down to your uterus for implantation

The second part of your cycle, known as the luteal phase, started when you ovulated and ends when your next period arrives. This is what a lot of ladies refer to as the two week wait. The nickname came about because your luteal phase lasts for about two weeks. emember, the corpus luteum only lasts for about -.)-= days. 'fter -= days your corpus luteum ) which is supplying your body with progesterone ) disintegrates. 4hen this happens, your progesterone levels drop and your next menstrual cycle begins. ,f you see that your luteal phase seems to be longer than -= days, you should take a pregnancy test because you might be pregnantA

's your corpus luteum prepares your body for pregnancy, it produces progesterone.Progesterone does several things to support a healthy pregnancy. ,t prepares the lining of your uterus for implantation by making it thicker and creates a nutrient rich environment to support the developing embryo. ,t keeps your uterus from contracting and expelling the implanted embryo. :rogesterone is what causes the cervix to thicken and form a mucous plug. The mucous plug keeps bacteria from getting past the cervix and into the uterus. :rogesterone is also what causes your body temperature to rise during the second half of your cycle.

!uman chorionic gonadotropin, or hCG, is produced by a developing embryo soon after conception. ,ts main purpose is to support the corpus luteum. 4ithout h?G, the corpus luteum will die and stop producing progesterone. You may also know that h?G, sometimes referred to as the Bpregnancy hormoneB, is what modern pregnancy tests detect. &ven though h?G production starts shortly after conception, it won1t be detectable in your urine or even your blood for at least a few more days. Your egg is still making its way into your uterus, but implantation could happen in the next couple days.

're you noticing any symptoms of pregnancy5 %ome women claim to notice signs of pregnancy very early on. !owever, your egg has probably not implanted into your uterus +ust yet. The symptoms you may be feeling like bloating, breast tenderness, moodiness, or fatigue may be the result of the rising progesterone levels in your body. :7% symptoms are actually very similar to pregnancy symptoms so at this point, it is very hard to say if those symptoms you are noticing are the result of pregnancy or +ust a normal part of your menstrual cycle.

Your egg may be implanting into your uterus today. Your egg has traveled all the way though your fallopian tube and has finally made its way to your uterus. 4hen implantation takes place the fertili8ed egg burrows into the lining of the uterus and attaches to it. %ome women notice cramping or slight bleeding when this happens. This is called implantation bleeding or spotting. %ome women mistake implantation bleeding as an early arrival of their menstrual period. 9ot all women will notice implantation bleeding but if you notice some spotting today, this could be why.

You probably can1t detect pregnancy with a home pregnancy test +ust yet. !ome pregnancy tests detect h?G which is present in your urine. ,n order for h?G to be detected in your urine it has to be present in your body. This does not happen until the egg implants into the lining of your uterus. 4hen implantation takes place, h?G is passed from your developing embryo into your blood stream. Your kidneys filter your blood and then remove any waste or unwanted substances in the form of urine. 2nce h?G makes its way into your urine, it can be detected on a home pregnancy test.

,f your egg implanted into your uterus a couple days ago, you may be able to test positive on a home pregnancy test today. ;eep in mind that it is still very early. &ven if you have a negative blood test today, you might still be pregnant. @lood tests are much more precise than a home pregnancy test. They still detect for the same hormone, h?G, but they give you an exact number of h?G m,/Cml in your blood stream. ' home pregnancy test only tells you if you have h?G presentD it doesn1t indicate how much h?G is present.

,f you take a home pregnancy test today you may find that the result is very confusing. 4hen you have a positive result a few days before your period is even late, you may find the test result is a very faint line. ,n most cases, if you followed the manufacturer1s instructions correctly, a faint line means that you are indeed pregnant. %ome of the tests on the market today detect h?G at levels as low as .> m,/Cml. ,f you are uncertain if your test results are accurate you can do a number of things0 take another test in a day or two, take a digital test, or call your doctor for a blood test.

,f you are pregnant you may be wondering when your due date is. 7ost doctors base your due date on your last menstrual period. ,f for some reason a woman does not know when her last period is her doctor may use an ultrasound to calculate when her baby is due. ' pregnancy lasts for about .E> days. This is around => weeks or F calendar months. To determine when your baby will be due, use !"s due date calculator. 6ust enter the date of your last period and your typical cycle length and the calculator will tell you when you are due and some other interesting facts. /se 671s due date calculator to determine when your baby would be due.

,f you have not had a positive pregnancy test yet, you may be feeling discouraged. ,f this is your first cycle trying to conceive, don1t despair. &ach month you only have about a .GH chance of getting pregnant even if you do everything perfectly. ,t may take several cycles of trying before you get pregnant. ,t may take longer to get pregnant if you are older or have pre)existing medical conditions. ,f you are not pregnant within a year, you should talk to your doctor. !owever, if you are (G or older, you should only wait six months before seeing your doctor.

Your period should be arriving today. ,f your period does not arrive today there could be many reasons for this. ,f you have a negative test even when your period is late, you could still be pregnant. You may have miscalculated the date of ovulation. ,f ovulation was delayed because of stress or other factors, your period would also be delayed. ,f your period does not arrive in the next couple days, try taking another home pregnancy test. ,f your period does not arrive in the next week, a phone call to your doctor may be in order.