Getting Pregnant: What You Need To Know Right Now

This book covered many different subjects relating to preganancy. The first subject was the menstrual cycle and what helps you get pregnant and what your body does to prepare to get pregnant. It also had a chapter on many things that can threaten a woman's fertility. The book also discussed what someone can do to improve their fertility and pregnancy. This book was very detailed and covered a broad variety of subjects. It presented useful information in a non-overwhelming manner. I actually plan on going out and buying this book when I get the chance.

After defining the key hormones, Getting Pregnant expressed the menstrual cycle in detail, starting with the first day of bleeding. When your body realizes that FSH is low, it begins producing more and releasing it into the bloodstream. This stimulates a new group of follicles inside the ovaries to make new eggs. When the eggs start to grow, they release estrogen. The estrogen stimulates the endometrial tissue to grow thicker so it will form a spongy nest where the embryo can easily implant and grow. Once the eggs have been growing for a few days one of them will surpass the others in growth. When this egg reaches its peak maturity, estrogen levels rise, and your body releases the hormone LH in response. LH makes your egg leave the ovary and travel to the fallopian tube. Once the egg is in the fallopian tube it is ready to be fertilized but, it is only fertile for about 12-24 hours.

The chapter on threats to fertility not only expressed common and uncommon fertility threats but how to combat or prevent them. One of the threats discussed was scar tissue or adhesions, which are bands of fibrous materials that develop in response to gynecological or obstetrical procedures. Scar tissue forms when tissue is manipulated during surgery and the body thinks its being wounded. It then makes layers of tissue in the area where it believes the wounds are. The scar tissue is then perceived as even more wounds