The Man’s Reproductive System Is Controlled By A Series Of Hormones. Most Of These Are The Same As Are Found In Women, But Are Produced On A Constant Rather Than A Cyclical Basis. The Hypothalamus At The Base Of The Man’s Brain Stimulates The Pituitary Gland To Produce Follicle- Stimulating Hormone And Luteinising Hormone. These In Turn Encourage The Production Of Testosterone And The Development Of The Germ Cells Into Sperm.
When A Baby Is Conceived, These Two Complex Sustems Act And Interact Almost Like Clockwise. The Egg Is Released By The Woman’s Ovary On About The Fourteenth Day And Travels Into The Fallopian Tube. Ideally, If The Couple Are Trying To Conceive, It Is At This Time That They Should Make Love. On Ejaculation, The Sperm Make Their Way Up Through The Cervix And Uterus Into The Fallopian Tube, A Journey That Takes From 30 Minutes To Several Hours. They Will Be Helped On Their Way By The Mucus Produced In The Woman’s Body, And By Muscular Contractions Of The Uterus. Even So, Only A Minute Fraction, Perhaps As Few As 500 Sperm, Will Reach The Fallopian Tubes, And Even Fewer The Egg. When They Do, A Process Called Capacitation Takes Place Which Enables The Outer Layer Of The Head Of The Sperm Is Worn Away To Release A Number Of Enzymes. They Break Down The Outer Layer Of The Egg To Allow In One Sperm. Inside, The Nucleus Of The Egg And Sperm Combine, Each Providing Half Of The Genetic Material, 23 Chromosomes Each, That Will Lay The Foundations For A New Human Life. A Single Cell Is Formed And, Protected By Its Outer Shell And Surrounded By A Jelly-Like Substance It Continues To Travel Down The Fallopian Tube, Dividing As It Goes. At This Very Early Stage Each Cell Contains All The Genetic Information Needed To Form A Complete Person. It Is Only Later That The Cells Differentiate, Developing Into Different Parts Of The Human Body.
After A Further Four To Six Days, The Embryo Reaches The Womb, By Which Time Two Things Will Have Happened. In Response To Oestrogen And Progesterone Produced From The Developing Follicle And Then The Corpus Luteum, The Womb Lining Will Have Thickened And Softened To Provide An Environment Which Is Conducive To The Embryo Implanting And The Pregnancy Being Successfully Established. The Embryo Will Meanwhile Have Subdivided To Form As Many As Sixty-Four Cells. It Will Produce Human Chorionic Gonadotropin, A Hormone Which Can Be Detected In The Woman’s Urine And Will Give The First Indication That She Is Pregnant. The Embryo Attaches To The Lining Of The Womb By Frond-Like Chorionic Villi Which Transport The Nutrients It Needs. Meanwhile The Mucus Produced By The Woman’s Cervix Will Have Thickened To Prevent More Semen From Entering Her Reproductive System.
If The Egg Is Not Fertilized, The Corpus Luteum Does Not Continue Producing Progesterone. So The Lining Of The Womb Cannot Be Maintained And Is Lost In The Usual Monthly Menstruation. 