After having traveled week 1 of pregnancy, we continue our journey through Pregnancy Week by Week with the Week 2 of pregnancy.
As we mentioned in the previous post, the duration of pregnancy is 40 weeks from the first day of the last menstruation. Therefore, during the first week you will have the rule, while the second week the body of the woman prepares for ovulation, always talking about a normal female cycle of 28-30 days.
Ovulation
From the beginning of menstruation until the moment when the ovary releases the ovule, the follicular phase. During the follicular phase changes occur in the uterine cavity, in the endometrial mucosa, to prepare for the possible implantation of a pregnancy.
Towards the end of the second week the ovulation, which happens in the 2-3 central days of the cycle and will depend on the duration of your cycle.
Ovulation consists in the release of the mature egg or egg that descends through the fallopian tubes to the uterus waiting to be fertilized by a sperm.
If fertilization does not occur during the period of time in which the ovule is arranged, the woman's body realizes that there is no pregnancy, and is preparing to remove the ovum with the following menstruation. The next day the cycle starts again.
If you have sex on a regular basis, every day or every other day, on those days you are likely to get pregnant.
You should keep in mind that sperm they remain alive between 48-72 hours within the woman's body, so if you have relationships the days before ovulation occurs there is also a chance of pregnancy.
Know your fertile days
Fertile days are the days when you are more likely to get pregnant.
Women's cycles usually cover 28 or 30 days, so the central days of the cycle will be the most conducive to getting pregnant: 14 or 15 days after the first day of menstruation.
If your cycle is 23 days, ovulation will, in theory, occur on days 11, 12 and 13 of the cycle. On the other hand, if your cycle has a duration of 30 days, it will occur on days 15, 16 and 17 of the cycle, as we see in the box.
Anyway, as you know every woman is a world. Women with irregular cycles, or who have an unadjusted cycle, as in the case of women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), have a more difficult time calculating the time of ovulation and therefore their fertile days.
Still, there are signs that allow you to identify the time of ovulation and help you recognize your period of greatest fertility.
Signs that ovulation will occur
There are indicators that can help you identify what your fertile days are.
Cervical mucus: Modifications in the cervical mucus indicate that they find you in your fertile period. At these times of the cycle the mucus film and its pH increases towards neutrality (decreasing its acidity), which makes its consistency more elastic, shaped like elastic threads (stretches and does not cut). It is usually compared to the consistency of egg white.
Basal temperature: Basal temperature is body temperature when we wake up. As a result of hormonal changes, the temperature usually rises between 0.3ºC and 0.5ºC within 2 or 3 days after ovulation. By registering the oscillations in the basal temperature for a few months, you can establish your calendar. If the measurements are similar in those months, we know that having sex from the days before the temperature change will be more likely to get pregnant, since we are supposed to have ovulated.
In the week 2 of pregnancy You are not pregnant yet, but your body is preparing for ovulation that will occur, depending on each woman, this week or later. The egg that will be fertilized by a sperm will be released giving rise to a new life.
