Updates to text, information, guidelines, formatting and sources, and new medical review.
While women release just one egg each month, men release millions of sperm in a single ejaculation.
But only one will reach its destination, meaning the odds are stacked against fertilization.
Luckily, egg and sperm have developed some pretty cool tricks to give themselves a fighting chance.
Read on to find out how fertilization actually works.
What is fertilization?
Fertilization is when a mans sperm combines with a woman’s egg to form a single cell.
Some people think fertilization happens in the uterus, since thats where the baby develops.
However, fertilization actually occurs in the fallopian tubes.
Each sperm has a single goal: to meet up with the egg.
To reach the target, though, a sperm cell has to go on a lengthy and strenuous journey.
Once there, if the sperm is the lucky one, it will penetrate the egg and fertilize it.
Once there, it implants in the uterine wall and continues to develop into your baby.
Most of the time,implantationoccurs in the uterus as it should.
However, sometimes the fertilized egg implants and grows somewhere outside of the uterus.
This is called anectopic pregnancy.
When does fertilization occur?
For fertilization to happen, the timing and conditions must be just right.
How long does it take for a sperm to fertilize an egg?
Contrary to what many people believe, fertilization doesnt occur immediately after sex.
Sperm can reach the egg in about an hour, while the entire fertilization process can take several hours.
The sperm that do reach the egg still have their work cut out for them.
The race is on to be the first one to plow through the hard outer layer.
And there’s plenty of competition.
Then the chromosomes carried by the sperm and egg come together, and the egg is officially fertilized.
Can you feel when an egg gets fertilized?
You wont feel when an egg gets fertilized.
You also wont feel pregnant after two or three days.
This happens about eight to nine days after fertilization, though it can happen earlier or later, depending.
Symptoms of implantation may include abdominal cramps andlight bleeding.
Whether you feel anything or not, implantation is the moment that fertilization gives way to pregnancy!
How long can sperm live inside you to get pregnant?
Sperm can survive inside the female reproductive tract for about 72 hours.
And, in some cases, the sperm can live for up to five days.
But the lifespan of an egg is much shorter.
The egg lives for only 12 to 24 hours after ovulation.
But once they do, you’ve embarked on your own amazing journey: the journey of motherhood.
