The Sperm Meets Egg Plan: Getting Pregnant Faster

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When the nucleus of a sperm and egg fuse together, the egg is fertilised and it develops into a fetus. The mortality rate for sperm is very high and only a few dozen ever make it to the egg. The rest get trapped, lost (they may head up the wrong fallopian tube) or die along the way. For the few that get near the egg, the race isn’t over. Each one has to work frantically to penetrate the egg’s outer shell and get inside before the others. The egg needs to be fertilised within 24 hours of its release. When the hardiest sperm of the bunch makes it through, the egg changes instantaneously to prevent any others getting in. It’s like a protective shield that clamps down over the egg at the exact moment the first sperm is safely inside. Dode MAN, Caixeta FMC, Vargas LN, Leme LO, Kawamoto TS, Fidelis AAG, Franco MM. Dode MAN, et al. J Assist Reprod Genet. 2023 Apr;40(4):943-951. doi: 10.1007/s10815-023-02758-3. Epub 2023 Mar 3. J Assist Reprod Genet. 2023. PMID: 36864182 Deanna Roy is the six-time USA Today bestselling author of women's fiction. She is a fierce advocate for all the children in her care, biological, fostered, and adopted, and the mothers, who like her, lost babies to miscarriage.

Women’s bodies mature a single egg fully each month. Men’s bodies, however, are almost constantly at work, producing millions of microscopic sperm – about 100 million every day. The sole purpose of each sperm is to swim towards and penetrate an egg. NHS. 2020. How can I improve my chances of becoming a dad? NHS, Common health questions. www.nhs.uk Opens a new window [Accessed October 2022] The placenta is an organ responsible for providing oxygen and nutrients, and removing waste substances. It grows into the wall of the uterus and is joined to the fetus by the umbilical cord. The mother's blood does not mix with the blood of the fetus, but the placenta lets substances pass between the two blood supplies: An opening between the uterus and vagina called the cervix, allow sperm in and menstrual blood out. The vagina, or birth canal, connects the cervix to the outside of the body.

During fertilisation, the genetic material in the sperm and egg combine to create a new cell that will rapidly start dividing. This bundle of new cells is known as the blastocyst. It continues travelling down the fallopian tube towards the womb, a journey that can take another three days or so. Part of the tip of the head of the sperm releases enzymes to digest the egg membrane to allow fertilisation to take place.

Deanna also writes a series of books for middle grade readers, including JINNIE WISHMAKER, MARCUS MENDER, and ELEKTRA CHAOS. Each ovary is connected to the uterus by an oviduct. . The oviduct is lined with cilia, which are tiny hairs on cells. As part of the menstrual cycle, an ovum develops, becomes mature and is released from an ovary. The cilia move the ovum along the oviduct and into the uterus. The male reproductive system has two testes (singular: testis). These are contained in a bag of skin called the scrotum. The testes have two functions: Want to work out when you ovulate? Try out our ovulation calculator. Pinpointing the day of ovulation can help you work out your fertile window.The placenta is an organ that grows into the wall of the uterus and is joined to the fetus by the umbilical cord. Hirsch IH. 2019. Overview of male sexual function. www.msdmanuals.com Opens a new window [Accessed May 2020] The Sperm Meets Egg Plan is a step-by-step guide to achieving pregnancy without taking invasive tests, charting temperatures, or making mistakes in predicting your ovulation that result in mistimed attempts at fertilization. The uterus is a muscular bag with a soft lining. The uterus is where a baby develops until birth. The cervix is a ring of muscle at the lower end of the uterus. It keeps the baby in place during pregnancy. Wallace WHB, Kelsey TW. 2010. Human ovarian reserve from conception to the menopause. PloS One 5(1): e8772. journals.plos.org Opens a new window [Accessed May 2020]

NHS. 2018. Trying to get pregnant. Health A to Z. www.nhs.uk Opens a new window [Accessed May 2020] Levin RJ. 2011. Can the controversy about the putative role of the human female orgasm in sperm transport be settled with our current physiological knowledge of coitus? J Sex Med 8(6): 1566-78. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov Opens a new window [Accessed May 2020] Cox E, Takov V. 2019. Embryology, ovarian follicle development. StatPearls. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov Opens a new window [Accessed May 2020] NHS. 2019. How can I tell when I'm ovulating? Common Health Questions. www.nhs.uk Opens a new window [Accessed May 2020] BabyCentre's editorial team is committed to providing the most helpful and trustworthy pregnancy and parenting information in the world. When creating and updating content, we rely on credible sources: respected health organisations, professional groups of doctors and other experts, and published studies in peer-reviewed journals. We believe you should always know the source of the information you're seeing. Learn more about our editorial and medical review policies.In humans, conception begins when a sperm fertilises an egg. In female reproductive organs, ovaries produce the eggs and the hormones that regulate the ovulation cycle. Its main function is to allow the exchange of materials such as oxygen and nutrients between the fetus and mother whilst removing waste substances such as carbon dioxide and urea. This relies on a process called diffusion as there is no mixing of maternal and fetal blood in the placenta.

From start to finish it takes about 10 to 11 weeks to create a new sperm cell. Both diet and lifestyle can make a difference to sperm quality. The average sperm lives only a few weeks in a man’s body and each ejaculation can set free up to 400 million sperm. This means that men have to make sperm continuously throughout their adult lives. FPA. 2018. Bodyworks. Your guide to understanding reproduction. Family Planning Association. Derby: McCorquodale. www.sexwise.fpa.org.uk Opens a new window [Accessed May 2020] Deans A. 2018. Your new pregnancy bible. The experts’ guide to pregnancy and early parenthood. 4th edn. London: Hamlyn.

Other substances can also pass through the placenta, including recreational drugs and alcohol. Drugs can affect the fetus - slowing the growth of the fetus, reducing the amount of oxygen and causing bleeding - which can be life threatening. Each cycle an egg travels from an ovary through the oviduct to the uterus or womb, where it settles. During ejaculation the sperm pass through the sperm ducts and mix with fluids produced by the glands. The fluids provide the sperm cells with nutrients. The mixture of sperm and fluids is called semen. This passes out of the penis. During ejaculation, they travel along sperm ducts through internal reproductive glands, where they mix with seminal fluid, or semen, on the way to the penis. NICE. 2017. Fertility problems: assessment and treatment. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. CG156. London: NICE. www.nice.org.uk Opens a new window [Accessed May 2020]