According to Healthline, fertilization takes place when the egg and the reproductive cell of men meet in the fallopian tube. For this to occur, a woman must be in her fertile period. That's the woman is nearing or has reached ovulation, the moment each menstrual cycle when an egg releases from the ovary.
An egg can only be fertilized between twelve and twenty-four hours from when it is released. After that, it begins to break down, hormones shift, and eventually, a period begins the next cycle.
While it sounds like the possibility of catching an egg is pretty slim, consider the numbers. It’s estimated that every semen released contains up to 280 million "sperm cells". And under ideal conditions, the male gamete actually lives for many days once inside the reproductive tract.
Any unprotected intercourse you have within about 5 days of ovulation may leave enough gamete waiting and ready to fertilize. In other words, you may get pregnant after having intercourse nearly a week before you ovulate if a healthy gamete is already hanging out at its final destination.
On the other hand, getting pregnant can happen very soon after having intercourse also. Health professionals say that the male gamete can move to the womb and fallopian tubes to reach the egg as soon as thirty minutes after semen release.
Content created and supplied by: BetterHealth. (via Opera News )
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