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Getting Pregnant

• The Menstrual Cycle
• Ovulation, Fertilization and Implantation
• Gender Determination
• When to Have Sex for Pregnancy

The Menstrual Cycle

Women between the ages of 15 and 44 are generally considered to be of reproductive age.
A woman's menstrual cycle is regulated by the action of two hormones in her body: estrogen(female hormone) and progesterone(corpus luteum hormone).

Estrogen increases in the first half of the menstrual cycle to thicken the endometrium, and progesterone increases in the second half of the menstrual cycle to maintain and develop the thickened endometrium, preparing it for implantation of a fertilized egg.

(Source : Korean Association of Obstetrics and Gynecology)

(Source : Contraception and Menstruation Research Society)

If pregnancy does not occur, these two hormones decrease, causing the endometrium to shed and come out of the body(called menstruation). However, if pregnancy occurs, these two hormones increase, maintaining the placenta so that the fertilized egg can grow well into a fetus and preventing further ovulation.