The hormone build-up to ovulation starts right now in week one of your menstrual cycle. Your pituitary gland, which lies in the base of your brain, produces follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). During your period, the level of FSH rises steadily, triggering the development of the follicles (around 15-20 each month) in each ovary. As well as containing each egg, the follicles produce estrogen.The hormone estrogen circulates,...

Even though it's still the week of your period, and some time before you ovulate, try to ensure you're in the best possible health to maximize fertility. One way is to cut down your alcohol intake.Heavy drinking can reduce the chances of conceiving and, if you do get pregnant, it can also harm your unborn baby's development. There is plenty of evidence that drinking beyond the recommended amounts is harmful. What's lacking is...

You may notice the timing and volume of your period differs. Your menstrual cycle can be affected by stress as well as by medical conditions, such as an overactive thyroid. In both these cases, periods can become lighter or less frequent. If your periods are erratic, it can be difficult to predict when you might ovulate. Unpredictable or missed periods may mean that ovulation isn't occurring at all. If you know this to be the...

Although this is officially the first day of your pregnancy, you won't conceive until around two weeks from now. This is classified as "day one" because once you conceive your pregnancy will be dated from the first day of your menstrual period. It would be more logical to date a pregnancy from the day of ovulation or conception, but, like most women, you're unlikely to know the day on which you ovulate, let alone conceive. You...

In the last trimester you're just not as secure on your feet as you used to be. Your center of gravity has shifted forward, your joints are less stable, and you can barely see your feet. All of these things make it more likely that you're going to fall down if you're not careful. Although the heroines of many soap operas still lose their babies when they fall tragically (or get pushed) down the stairs, a fall during pregnancy...

A developing fetus begins to hear at about 30 weeks. As this ability develops, researchers have found that the baby can distinguish its mother's voice from that of a stranger. In a recent study, 60 women were divided into two groups and fetal heart rates were measured before, during, and after a recorded two-minute poem was played through a speaker held above the mother's abdomen. The heart rate increased about five beats a...

The last weeks of your pregnancy give your baby time to grow in length and weight. A human fetus at 40 weeks. At this time your baby will weigh between 6 and 8 pounds and will measure about 18 to 22 inches in length. Week Number 35 Babies born at Week 35 have a 99 percent chance of survival. The lungs are fully developed and the respiratory problems that used to kill these preemies are now easily treated. Weeks Number 36 and...