by Amelia on 28 Mar 2019, 16:20
Let’s go over a few things about your ovaries and ovulation. A woman has two ovaries that lie between the uterus and the pelvic wall. Inside the ovaries are tiny cysts, called follicles, where your eggs live. On average, you are born with 2 million follicles with eggs in them. From birth until your death, these follicles will continue to disappear and die. By the time you reach puberty, you will have about 300,000 follicles with eggs inside them left. From this gigantic pool of eggs, a follicle (or sometimes follicles) will be selected each menstrual cycle to be “the chosen one” to ovulate. We do not know how this selection process happens, nor can we influence which egg is chosen.
Ovulation means the egg is released from the follicle in the ovary. Once you ovulate, the egg goes into the fallopian tube where it can be fertilized by a sperm. Usually, only one egg is released, and if fertilized, you have a singleton pregnancy. If 2 eggs are released and fertilized, you end up with fraternal twins. If fertilization does not occur, the uterine lining will break down and come out in the form of menstrual bleeding 14 days after ovulation.