How does womb look like

Our bodies do amazing things during this journey to create new life. Once you become pregnant, the lining of your uterus thickens and its blood vessels enlarge to nourish your baby.

As your pregnancy progresses, the uterus expands to make room for the growing baby. By the time your baby is born, your uterus will be many times its normal size. Amniotic Sac : A thin-walled sac that surrounds the baby during pregnancy. The sac is filled with amniotic fluid which is a liquid made by the baby and the amnion the membrane that covers the fetal side of the placenta. The amniotic sac protects the fetus from injury and helps to regulate his temperature.

Made up of mostly fibrous tissue and muscle, the cervix is circular in shape. Egg : The female reproductive cell produced in and released from the ovaries; also called the ovum. Fetus : The term for an unborn baby from the eighth week after fertilization until birth. Placenta : An organ, shaped like a flat cake, which only grows during pregnancy and provides nourishment to and takes waste away from the fetus.

Sperm : A male cell that is produced in the testes and can fertilize a female egg cell. At the upper corners of the uterus, the fallopian tubes connect the uterus to the ovaries.

The ovaries are two oval-shaped organs that lie to the upper right and left of the uterus. They produce, store, and release eggs into the fallopian tubes in the process called ovulation av-yoo-LAY-shun. There are two fallopian fuh-LO-pee-un tubes, each attached to a side of the uterus. Within each tube is a tiny passageway no wider than a sewing needle. At the other end of each fallopian tube is a fringed area that looks like a funnel. This fringed area wraps around the ovary but doesn't completely attach to it.

When an egg pops out of an ovary, it enters the fallopian tube. Once the egg is in the fallopian tube, tiny hairs in the tube's lining help push it down the narrow passageway toward the uterus. The ovaries OH-vuh-reez are also part of the endocrine system because they produce female sex hormones such as estrogen ESS-truh-jun and progesterone pro-JESS-tuh-rone. Sexual reproduction couldn't happen without the sexual organs called the gonads.

Most people think of the gonads as the male testicles. But both sexes have gonads: In females the gonads are the ovaries, which make female gametes eggs. The male gonads make male gametes sperm.

When a baby girl is born, her ovaries contain hundreds of thousands of eggs, which stay inactive until puberty begins. At puberty, the pituitary gland in the central part of the brain starts making hormones that stimulate the ovaries to make female sex hormones, including estrogen. The secretion of these hormones causes a girl to develop into a sexually mature woman. Toward the end of puberty, girls begin to release eggs as part of a monthly period called the menstrual cycle.

About once a month, during ovulation, an ovary sends a tiny egg into one of the fallopian tubes. Unless the egg is fertilized by a sperm while in the fallopian tube, the egg leaves the body about 2 weeks later through the uterus — this is menstruation.

Blood and tissues from the inner lining of the uterus combine to form the menstrual flow, which in most girls lasts from 3 to 5 days. A girl's first period is called menarche MEH-nar-kee. It's common for women and girls to have some discomfort in the days leading to their periods. Premenstrual syndrome PMS includes both physical and emotional symptoms that many girls and women get right before their periods, such as:.

PMS is usually at its worst during the 7 days before a girl's period starts and disappears after it begins. Many girls also have belly cramps during the first few days of their periods caused by prostaglandins, chemicals in the body that make the smooth muscle in the uterus contract. These involuntary contractions can be dull or sharp and intense. It can take up to 2 years from menarche for a girl's body to develop a regular menstrual cycle.

During that time, her body is adjusting to the hormones puberty brings. On average, the monthly cycle for an adult woman is 28 days, but the range is from 23 to 35 days. If a female and male have sex within several days of the female's ovulation, fertilization can happen. When the male ejaculates when semen leaves the penis , a small amount of semen is deposited into the vagina.

Millions of sperm are in this small amount of semen, and they "swim" up from the vagina through the cervix and uterus to meet the egg in the fallopian tube. It takes only one sperm to fertilize the egg. About 5 to 6 days after the sperm fertilizes the egg, the fertilized egg zygote has become a multicelled blastocyst. The uterus wall is made up of 3 layers. The inside is a thin layer called the endometrium, which responds to hormones — the shedding of this layer causes menstrual bleeding.

The middle layer is a muscular wall. The outside layer of the uterus is a thin layer of cells. The size of a non-pregnant woman's uterus can vary. In a woman who has never been pregnant, the average length of the uterus is about 7 centimetres. This increases in size to approximately 9 centimetres in a woman who is not pregnant but has been pregnant before. The size and shape of the uterus can change with the number of pregnancies and with age.

One measure to estimate growth is the fundal height, the distance from the pubic bone to the top of the uterus.

Your doctor GP or obstetrician or midwife will measure your fundal height at each antenatal visit from 24 weeks onwards. For instance, the fundal height may be different in women who are carrying more than one baby , who are overweight or obese, or who have certain medical conditions. A smaller than expected fundal height could be a sign that the baby is growing slowly or that there is too little amniotic fluid. If so, this will be monitored carefully by your doctor.

In contrast, a larger than expected fundal height could mean that the baby is larger than average and this may also need monitoring. As the uterus grows, it can put pressure on the other organs of the pregnant woman's body. For instance, the uterus can press on the nearby bladder, increasing the need to urinate. Braxton Hicks contractions , also known as 'false labour' or 'practice contractions', prepare your uterus for the birth and may start as early as mid-way through your pregnancy, and continuing right through to the birth.

Braxton Hicks contractions tend to be irregular and while they are not generally painful, they can be uncomfortable and get progressively stronger through the pregnancy. During true labour, the muscles of the uterus contract to help your baby move down into the birth canal.

Labour contractions start like a wave and build in intensity, moving from the top of the uterus right down to the cervix. Your uterus will feel tight during the contraction, but between contractions, the pain will ease off and allow you to rest before the next one builds.

Unlike Braxton Hicks, labour contractions become stronger, more regular and more frequent in the lead up to the birth. These contractions are milder than the contractions felt during labour. The uterus will also continue to have contractions after the birth is completed, particularly during breastfeeding.