Physiology of Conception

Hi, I am Dr Jayanti Kamath. I am an IVF consultant, practising at Srishti Fertility Care Center and Women's Clinic, Mumbai. So today, I will be talking about the physiology of conception or how babies are made. Before we begin I will tell you about few things about the female reproductive system.

So as you can see in this picture this is a picture of the uterus and these are the tubes, the fallopian tubes and this whitish structure over here it is called as ovary. Now this part is the vagina and this is the mouth of the uterus it is also called as the cervix so once again this is the uterus these are the fallopian tubes on either side this is the ovary this is the mouth of the uterus called as the cervix and this is the Vagina. so how babies are made first of all babies are made by the fertilization of an ovum or the female egg by a sperm from the male. So the female eggs are produced in a structure called as the ovary. So what happens every month, the egg is released from the ovary into the fallopian tube and the egg grows throughout his journey through the fallopian tube and after sexual intercourse, the sperms enter through the vagina and they meet the egg in the tube and the egg gets fertilized. It keeps on growing and then the embryo or the baby gets implanted inside the uterus and this baby grows up till nine months till the woman delivers. So this is the physiology of conception now why is this important cause when a woman cannot conceive there can be problems in this entire process. For example where the egg is manufactured that is the ovary.

There can be a problem in the ovary, the woman can have a hormonal imbalance such as polycystic ovarian disease where many eggs are produced but they do not grow or they do not become mature then there can be cysts in the ovary such as endometriotic cyst or any other cyst so these are the problems with the ovary. Then coming to the tubes. If there is any blockage in the tubes the oocyte or the XL will not be able to reach the sperm.

Why the blockage occurs?

Blockage can occur due to any infection called as pelvic inflammatory disease or tuberculosis which is a very common disease in our country. So because of that, the tubes can get blocked. So once the tubes are blocked the oocyte has a problem in meeting the sperm, then the main region that is the inside of the uterus, so there can be problems there also. There Can be fibroids, there can be a septum, there can be polyps or there can be the uterus itself can become a tumour called as adenomyosis. So these are the uterine problems which interfere with conception. Now coming lower down there is a mouth of the uterus which is very important. Suppose the mouth of the uterus is closed or there is a very narrow space over there then again the sperms will have difficulty in entering the uterus.

So these are the various problems in the female reproductive system which interfere with conception.

For more information about this or if you have a problem in conceiving please consult me at lybrate.com.

Thank you.