What is happening in my body? 

 

Last week we saw how the hormone FSH stimulated 3-30 follicles on your ovaries to begin growing.  This week, however, the amount of FSH in the bloodstream starts to decline.  Eventually there just isn't enough FSH in your body to grow all of those follicles, so one follicle continues to grow, while the others shrink and wither away.  The dominant follicle grows larger and larger within the ovary, and it begins to secrete estrogen. 

 

With this rise in estrogen comes the secretion

 

of another hormone from the anterior pituitary gland, called

 

Leutinizing Hormone (LH).  LH helps the dominant follicle to

 

reach maturity by stimulating the follicle to fill with fluid.  A

 

mature follicle is between 20-30 millimeters around.  

 

Estrogen also begins to thicken the lining of the uterus (the

 

endometrium) to prepare for the possibility of a pregnancy. 

 

When your period ends, your lining is usually only 2 millimeters

 

thick, but by the end of this week, the lining has grown to 11

 

millimeters!

 

As ovulation approaches you will notice an increase in cervical

 

fluid (also known as cervical mucus).  Cervical fluid is produced

 

inside of your uterus as ovulation gets closer so that sperm

 

will have an easier time swimming through your vagina and into your uterus.  The fluid moves through your cervix and out of your vagina.  First you may notice cervical fluid that is white and cramy - closely resembling lotion.  The day of ovulation you will notice that the cervical fluid will become clear, sometimes with white streaks through it.  It closely resembles egg-whites in appearence and texture.  It is very stretchy, slippery, and there can be quite a lot of it.  This "egg-white" cervical fluid is a sign that you are extremely fertile, and sperm will have an easy time navigating your vagina, cervix, and uterus as they rush to fertilize the egg.

 

Sometimes you can actually feel when you ovulate. Known technically as "mittelschmerz," ovulatory pain might feel like a cramp or a pin-prick on one side of your abdomen.  If you feel this, you are feeling your follicle burst to release the egg.  Not everyone has or notices this symptom.

 

Near the end of this week, a major shift in hormones takes place.  Estrogen suddenly drops very low, while LH climbs very high (known as the LH surge).  A new hormone, progesterone, also starts to increase at this time.  The LH surge causes the follicle, now filled with fluid, to swell and burst, shooting the egg into the abdomen.  This is known as ovulation, and it usually takes place on "Day 14" of your cycle (remember that "Day 1" is the first day of your period).  However, some women don't normally ovulate until much later, and sometimes ovulation can be delayed due to stress, illness, or medication.  Ovulation should occur approximately at the same time each cycle.  This is the key principle of natural family planning methods (rhythm methods), since after ovulation your temperature will rise almost a full degree for the remainder of your cycle, and charting this temperature month after month allows you to forcast the days you ovulate.

 

Videos

 

Shows drawings of a follicle growing and ovulation taking place.  Click "open" in the window that pops up.

 

Ovulation

 

Of Note This Week

 

What does cervical fluid look like throughout the fertility cycle? How can I tell when I'm going to ovulate?

 

Click here to find out!

 

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