Women’s Bodies & Conception

Hi! Thanks for being a part of our community. In episode two we talk about conception as well as historical and societal factors to consider when talking to women about the most intimate parts of their bodies. A warning, if you haven’t listened to episode two of the podcast, we say the word vagina a lot. Like A LOT! So, keep that in mind if you’re listening at work, in public, or around those that might be offended by repeatedly hearing the word vagina.

Before having a conversation about the female body, I thought it would be helpful to touch on how the female body may be perceived currently, as well as how it has historically been viewed. I looked to the amazing Dr. Aviva Romm for some history. Are you familiar with Aviva Romm? If not, I highly recommend that you check her out. She has written a number of books on natural health and also has a podcast, https://avivaromm.com/welcome-natural-md-radio/.

While preparing for our conception episode, I read the chapter “A woman’s body anatomy & hormones” in Aviva Romm’s book, Botanical Medicine and Women’s Health. Aviva talks about women’s bodies being strong, powerful, and capable. Yes, to this! As witnesses to pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, we see first hand how strong, powerful, and capable women’s bodies are. Yet, today and throughout history, women’s bodies have also been shrouded in myth, mystery, magic, and misunderstanding. This has been true across many cultures and time periods; and is still evident today. Consider the hypersexulazation of breasts and the taboos around breastfeeding in public. Daily, women are harrassed and told to cover up when feeding a baby in a restaurant, on a plane, or in a park.

There is so much to unpack when it comes to the female body that the topic could consume volumes of books and an entirely different blog. So, for our purposes, I think it’s helpful to just be aware that women have, and continue to face, discrimination and sexualization. Negative views of the female body can result in prohibitions, shaming and, in my opinion, are partially responsible for the lack of education and understanding of the female body. This can be especially harmful if it leads women to not ask questions, share concerns, or seek help for “female problems”.

Shame and embarrassment impact the care a person receives. When we talk with women, it’s important to know historical and current beliefs about the female body. For example, as a midwife, we say vagina often, but this might be a word that a woman isn’t comfortable saying or hearing. She might not even be able to accurately describe her anatomy. It’s our responsibility to learn the art of effectively communicating with women at all different levels of education and comfort about their bodies. To do this effectively, we need to have a solid understanding of women’s bodies and how they work.

As a midwife, vagina is a word you say, or will say, probably multiple times a day. Do you know the meaning of the word vagina? I’m 41 and didn’t until I started researching for this podcast. Vagina means “sheath for a sword”. Is it just me, or does that rub you the wrong way? I now have a better appreciation for the midwives and women that use the word yoni instead of vagina. Urban dictionary defines yoni as, “the Sanskrit word for female genitals that translates to "source of all life" or "sacred space." I like that a lot more than a sheath for a sword. If you want to take a break from studying, go to urban dictionary and lookup synonyms for vagina. There are some really disgusting and derogatory words that are listed as a synonym for vagina.

So what’s the big deal? It may seem little or trivial. Maybe it is. I’d love to hear your thoughts. I find that these are examples of how women’s bodies, especially our breasts and vaginas, have been and continue to be degraded. And how can that not contribute to having some girls grow up with negative beliefs and attitudes about their bodies? Especially their sexual organs. Then consider that 1 in 3 women will experience some form of sexual violence in her lifetime. And that sexual violence may result in pregnancy. Or, Pregnancy and/or labor may be triggering for someone who has experienced sexual violence. These are all considerations that should be in the forefront of our mind when we meet with women and talk to them about their vaginas or other intimate aspects of their bodies and lives. What important work we do!

Let’s move on to conception. Here’s a fun question, why do women orgasm? Is this something you’ve thought about before? Unlike the male orgasism, women’s climax does not appear to be necessary for reproduction. While it isn’t necessary for conception, some research has suggested a female orgasm might help with conception. British biologist Robin Baker and Mark Bellis did research on this topic and found women retained more of their partners’ ejaculate if they reached orgasm. They found that orgasms, at any time between 1 min before the male ejaculated up to 45 min after, led to a higher level of sperm retention. How cool is that? You can read more in their article, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313793042_Robin_Baker_and_Mark_Bellis_Pioneers_of_Research_on_Human_Sperm_Competition

When it comes to conception, what comes to mind? In our podcast, Kourtney talks about the scene in the movie, “Look Who’s Talking” where the sperm are going towards the egg. For a flashback go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65BV5dXXxzM.

Which brings us to conception! That magical moment when a sperm and egg meet. Quiz yourself:

What is the lifespan of an egg?

What’s the lifespan of sperm?

Where does fertilization typically happen?

What do you call a fertilized egg?

Where does fertilization typically happen?

An ovum has a lifespan of about 24 hours.

Sperm have a lifespan of up to 5 five days.

A zygote is an egg that has been fertilized by a sperm.

Fertilization typically happens in the fallopian tube, which is also known as uterine tubes, ovaducts, or salpinges.

Fertilization usually takes 18 to 24 hours. The zygote begins as a single cell that contains 46 chromosomes, 23 from the ovum and 23 from the sperm. Pretty amazing to think, at this time all the genetic code for a new human has been formed.

Who determines the sex of the baby? The ovum only contains x chromosomes, so it’s up to the sperm to determine if it will provide another x (girl) or y (boy). By the 10th week of pregnancy a fetus’s sex is evident, and by 14 weeks sex organs have formed. There are non-invasive blood tests available to find out the sex of a baby in the first trimester. The NIPT test can be done as early as 10 weeks gestation. The 20 week anatomy scan is a time people can find out the sex of their baby by ultrasound.

My favorite thought is that by 20 weeks, a female fetus has a fully developed reproductive system, with six to seven million eggs. Men are different, as they begin producing millions of new sperm cells every day from puberty onward.

After fertilization, huge transformations take place, with cells dividing and creating additional cells. Those cells are known as blastomeres and they form a solid ball of 12 to 16 cells that is called the morula.

The morula enters the uterus about how many days after fertilization? About 4 days after fertilization. Intracellular fluid increases and a central cavity forms. And what was once a zygote is now called a blastocyst. The blastocyst is what implants in the endometrium of the uterus. We mentioned the endometrium, how many layers are there in the uterus? (Varney’s Midwifery 5th edition)

Yes, 3. They are the endometrium, myometrium and perimetrium.

If the blastocyst attaches outside of the uterus in say, the fallopian tube, what will happen?

That is called an ectopic pregnancy. Ectopic pregnancy occurs at a rate of 19.7 cases per 1,000 pregnancies in North America and is a leading cause of maternal mortality in the first trimester. We plan to have a future podcast focused on ectopic pregnancies.

Fertilization is an area where I feel like a video just makes everything so crystal clear. I really like this short video on the process of conception.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFrVmDgh4v4

Once the zygote is formed, that person’s sex, hair color, eye color, and 100s of other attributes are instantly determined. But that’s not the end of the story. Epigenetics is an emerging field that is fascinating! Epigenetics is the study of the how, when, and why genetic material gets turned on and off. And new studies are showing that men pass on non-genetic information with their sperm. Going back to our preconception talk, this is why it’s important to talk about healthy habits and lifestyles prior to pregnancy for both men and women. If you’re interested in reading more, check out this article, “Dads Pass On More Than Genetics in Their Sperm”. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/dads-pass-more-genetics-their-sperm-180969760/#iwzu1IrKc2QzzKJF.99

Whew, I feel like we covered a lot in this article and podcast. As we keep going we will have a variety of blogs and podcasts. Some, like this article and podcast, will more broadly cover topics while other blogs and podcast will get very detailed and specific. Let us know what you think by leaving feedback in the comments. We are here for you.