Is there a mechanism in the body that stops this, or is it that the sperm can’t get to an egg anymore?
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There’s no egg anymore. The body stops ovulating each month.
Before the woman becomes pregnant, each month she would ovulate then have her period (shed the unused egg along with other tissue). When she’s ovulating, an egg is released to the Fallopian tube that’s ready to receive sperm – if it successfully does so, the egg becomes a zygote and the woman becomes pregnant. She then stops having her period (because otherwise she’d shed the fertilized egg) and stops ovulating.
There’s no egg anymore. The body stops ovulating each month.
Before the woman becomes pregnant, each month she would ovulate then have her period (shed the unused egg along with other tissue). When she’s ovulating, an egg is released to the Fallopian tube that’s ready to receive sperm – if it successfully does so, the egg becomes a zygote and the woman becomes pregnant. She then stops having her period (because otherwise she’d shed the fertilized egg) and stops ovulating.
Several things.
A woman’s menstrual cycle stops while she’s pregnant. Since her cycle is paused, the follicles in her ovaries do not mature, and thus she does not normally produce any eggs during pregnancy. (People will sometimes loosely say that women are born with all of their eggs, but more properly they’re born with all of their ovarian follicles, and those mature into eggs later.)
And in case that weren’t enough, there’s a thick layer of mucus called the *cervical plug* at the bottom of the uterus during pregnancy. That plug seals off the interior of the uterus from the outside world, protecting the embryo/fetus from e.g. infection. This mucus is present normally, but it’s thickened enough during pregnancy that sperm can’t swim through it. (In fact, artificially thickening it is part of how some birth control works.)
There’s no egg anymore. The body stops ovulating each month.
Before the woman becomes pregnant, each month she would ovulate then have her period (shed the unused egg along with other tissue). When she’s ovulating, an egg is released to the Fallopian tube that’s ready to receive sperm – if it successfully does so, the egg becomes a zygote and the woman becomes pregnant. She then stops having her period (because otherwise she’d shed the fertilized egg) and stops ovulating.
Several things.
A woman’s menstrual cycle stops while she’s pregnant. Since her cycle is paused, the follicles in her ovaries do not mature, and thus she does not normally produce any eggs during pregnancy. (People will sometimes loosely say that women are born with all of their eggs, but more properly they’re born with all of their ovarian follicles, and those mature into eggs later.)
And in case that weren’t enough, there’s a thick layer of mucus called the *cervical plug* at the bottom of the uterus during pregnancy. That plug seals off the interior of the uterus from the outside world, protecting the embryo/fetus from e.g. infection. This mucus is present normally, but it’s thickened enough during pregnancy that sperm can’t swim through it. (In fact, artificially thickening it is part of how some birth control works.)
When a woman is pregnant she stops ovulating, this is essentially how hormonal birth control works, it “tricks” the body into thinking (but not literally thinking) it is pregnant.
Also, mucus forms a plug in the cervix and prevents stuff from getting into the uterus.
When a woman is pregnant she stops ovulating, this is essentially how hormonal birth control works, it “tricks” the body into thinking (but not literally thinking) it is pregnant.
Also, mucus forms a plug in the cervix and prevents stuff from getting into the uterus.
Hormonal changes (high estrogen and progesterone) prevent ovulation (preparing an egg for fertilization). There will also be thick mucus acting like a plug to the uterus preventing sperm to pass to where the egg might be
Hormonal changes (high estrogen and progesterone) prevent ovulation (preparing an egg for fertilization). There will also be thick mucus acting like a plug to the uterus preventing sperm to pass to where the egg might be
When a woman is pregnant she stops ovulating, this is essentially how hormonal birth control works, it “tricks” the body into thinking (but not literally thinking) it is pregnant.
Also, mucus forms a plug in the cervix and prevents stuff from getting into the uterus.
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