In today's post, we are going to talk about what changes occur in the body of both the mother and the baby in week 2 of pregnancy. As we mentioned in week 1, the first two weeks are different from the rest, since they are the only ones in which the baby is not yet present. A sector of professionals in the field call this period the weeks prior to conception. Likewise, during this week important variations occur within the pregnant woman. In the second week, the female body is preparing for fertilization to occur, as the endometrium thickens and prepares for the ovulation process. As mentioned above, the second week of the menstrual cycle coincides with the second week of pregnancy. Thus, we begin the so-called preovulatory phase, also known as the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle.
Regarding the symptoms, it happens that, since there is no pregnancy, there are no related sensations. However, symptoms of the ovulation process can be felt, which are usually cases such as abundant vaginal discharge with greater viscosity (appearance similar to egg white), accompanied by an increase in sexual desire and body temperature by a few tenths, swelling, abdominal and breast pain, gas, and in less frequent cases, light vaginal bleeding. In general, all of these symptoms are less bothersome than those caused by menstruation, so it should not be a concern.
At the beginning of the menstrual cycle in week 1, the hormones FSH and LH, which are responsible for the correct functioning of the ovaries, are secreted by direct order from the pituitary gland of the brain. These hormones reach their maximum peak in this second week, which causes a series of events. It all begins approximately in the middle of week 2, where the fracture of a mature follicle occurs, thus expelling the already mature egg in the vicinity of the fallopian tubes. In this way, the journey of the egg through the fallopian tubes begins, being propelled thanks to the presence of cilia, its final destination being the uterus. The life expectancy of an egg is usually between 12 and 24 hours once it leaves the egg, and its fertilization would occur between the end of this second week until the beginning of week 3, which we will talk about in the next post. Furthermore, the maximum peaks of fertility in a woman begin a few days before ovulation, making them fertile for a total of 6 days, and the reason is that the sperm survive between 2 and 5 days. It's amazing how wise nature is.
Around 500 million sperm participate in a race to first reach the egg residing in the tubes. The path that these microscopic professional swimmers must travel is long and arduous, with the cilia mentioned above making their path difficult. Some of them manage to finish the route in a matter of hours, others in days, and many do not even reach the finish line.
Of all the sperm that finally reach the egg, only one manages to cross its internal membrane. This event is determined thanks to biochemical signals from the egg. At the moment in which the winning sperm manages to cross that membrane, the chemical structure of the egg changes to block the way to the rest of the swimmers who continue trying to access it.
And this is how we would end the second week of pregnancy, and the gestation process finally begins. From this moment, the pregnancy that we all know begins, with the presence of a fertilized egg lodged in the mother's uterus. It is impressive how the plan to create life is so complex, perfectly designed in terms of chemical relationships and timing. Now, did you know all these facts about the second week of pregnancy? Tell us in this post any questions or opinions regarding this very special phenomenon.
