2 Vital Factors of Reproductive Health When Trying to Get Pregnant

If you are a woman who wants to get pregnant, learning how your reproductive health works is very important. You should keep in mind that the reproductive system plays a very important role in your chances of conceiving. It could either increase or decrease your chances having a baby.

In understanding the reproductive system, there are two main areas that should be understood, Menstruation and Ovulation.

Menstruation is the most visible phase of the menstrual cycle. It is a process wherein every month, the woman's body goes through normal and natural alterations which aid the ovaries to release an egg that might get fertilized during the course of the month. The day one of the woman's cycle happens at the very first day of menstruation. A total of 28 days is the average cycle, however it is still normal for a cycle to last anywhere from 24 to 34 days.

The usual menstrual cycle start off at the beginning of the period. At this point, small hormone intensities create a signal to a woman's body to enhance hormone production level. Although the egg follicles start off producing up to 20 eggs, only one egg will mature. And this egg will be delivered into the fallopian tube approximately halfway through the menstrual cycle.

Ovulation is the expression used to illustrate the process wherein the egg is being released by the egg follicles. At this point, the rising levels of estrogen elicit a surge of luteinising hormone (LH), which causes the egg to be discharge all the way through the ovary wall.

More Chemicals, More Reproductive Problems

The exact causes of the increase in reproductive problems are presently unknown. However, in parallel with the increase there has been a rise in the manufacture and use of many chemicals, Greenpeace says in its report.

It has been estimated that every year around 100,000 different types of chemicals are produced and used around the world. The use of chemicals also led to the inevitable contamination of the environment and consequently, also to human exposure. Many chemicals have been found to contaminate human tissues and even the developing fetus in the womb is exposed to a multitude of chemicals which pollute the human body.

Although not proven beyond doubt, there is increasing evidence of possible link between the synonymous rise of the reproductive health problems and the rise of our exposure to many chemicals.

According to the Greenpeace report, the presence of many man-made chemicals at current environment levels may already be negatively impacting the reproductive health of wildlife and humans. The ground for such a hypothesis draw on a number of lines of evidence, including laboratory studies on effects of chemicals in animals, direct measurements of chemical exposure in humans (including presence of chemicals in body tissues) and the finding of correlations between level of exposure to chemicals and incidence of certain disorders.