Justine Kylle A.

Aberin
BS PSYCHOLOGY

“Miracle of Life and A Journey of Pregnancy”

Pregnancy is the term used to describe the period during which a fetus develops inside a
woman's womb or uterus. Pregnancy typically lasts 40 weeks, or just over 9 months, from the
last menstrual period to delivery. Trimesters are the terms used by healthcare providers to
describe the three stages of pregnancy. Pregnancy occurs when a sperm fertilizes an egg after
it's released from the ovary during ovulation. The fertilized egg then travels down into the
uterus, where implantation occurs. A successful implantation results in pregnancy.

Fertilization occurs when a woman's egg combines with a man's sperm to form a pregnancy.
Fertilization typically occurs in a fallopian tube that connects an ovary to the uterus. An embryo
begins to develop if the fertilized egg successfully travels down the fallopian tube and implants
in the uterus. All the eggs for a woman's lifetime are stored in her ovaries. Women do not keep
producing eggs. This is different from men, who continuously make more sperm. About once a
month, an egg is released from one of a woman's two ovaries. This is called ovulation. The egg
then enters the nearby fallopian tube that leads to the uterus. If a woman and a man have
unprotected sexual intercourse, sperm that is ejaculated from the man's penis may reach the
egg in the fallopian tube. If one of the sperm cells penetrates the egg, the egg is fertilized and
begins developing. The egg takes several days to travel down the fallopian tube into the uterus.
After it is in the uterus, a fertilized egg usually attaches to (implants in) the lining of the uterus
(endometrium). But not all fertilized eggs successfully implant. If the egg is not fertilized or does
not implant, the woman's body sheds the egg and the endometrium. This shedding causes
bleeding in a woman's menstrual period. When a fertilized egg does implant, a hormone called
human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) begins to be produced in the uterus. This is the hormone
that a pregnancy test measures. It prevents the uterine lining from being shed, so the woman
does not have a period. Other signs such as breast changes and nausea occur in a woman's
body, also meaning that pregnancy has begun.

By the weeks of 1-9; This is the week of ovulation. The embryo is slowly forming. In this early
pregnancy the baby grows dramatically, from a tiny dot to the size of a grape.
2 weeks so far the baby still doesn’t exist, but this is the week you ovulate. The ovary releases a
ripened egg (ovum) into the fallopian tube, where it will patiently await the sperm that have
survived the 6- to 8-inch trek through your cervix and uterus. While 75 to 900 million sperm
embark on this journey, less than a thousand actually make it past your cervix and only one
lucky swimmer will have the honor of penetrating the egg at the moment of conception.

And by the week of 9; Even though you still have to wait another eight weeks to find out if the
baby will be a boy or a girl, this week, the baby gets the goods she/he'll need to, well, make
her/his own baby one day. Reproductive organs are beginning to form now, along with some
other key organs, like the pancreas and gallbladder. At this point the baby has doubled in size
and the head, which is about half the length of the entire body, is tucked down toward the chest.
The tiny fingers are growing longer, and the ends are slightly enlarged right now -- this is where
those unique fingerprints will ultimately form.

By the weeks 15 to 20; This week the baby can hear you talking, reading, and singing. You'll get
the thrill of feeling your baby move. His rapid system is slowly maturing. Lanugo, Facial
expressions and the baby's delicate skeleton continues to harden from rubbery cartilage to
bone. Even so, his bones will remain somewhat flexible for an easier trip through the birth canal.
The umbilical cord has fully matured with one vein and two arteries that are protected by
Wharton's jelly (a thick substance that makes the cord slippery so it can move freely around
your baby) and it will continue to grow, grow.. Until it reaches its full term and is ready to see the
world.

Teenage pregnancy has been rampant nowadays in our society. Teenagers as young as
fourteen usually get pregnant at an early age. As an effect, most teenagers become mothers
unprepared in facing the duties and responsibilities of being a mom. Teenage pregnancy is a
result of a lot of factors in society. One of its main reasons are sometimes negligence of the
parents and sometimes are due to lack of sex education as well as inclination of the younger
generation to porn. Due to these reasons, most teenagers become mothers at a young age,
forcing them to marry early or sometimes even stop attending school in order to be a mom. As a
responsible citizen of the country, we must do our part to avoid teenage pregnancy by guiding
our younger generation. Parents must always be responsible for their children. Sex education
must also be implemented in order for the younger generations be aware of the consequences
of it. Also, the government should be stricter in terms of regulating films and other materials with
adult content. With this, we can lessen the number of teenagers who become pregnant at an
early age. As for those who get into teenage pregnancy, it is also our responsibility to guide
them once they already get into their situation. As part of the society, it is still our responsibility
to guide them to become a more efficient and responsible parent.

Every system and program cell is so elaborately designed and created. And the nerve wracking
journey for those little things just to have ideally one victorious sperm in the end is fascinating. It
is truly a God-given miracle to truly have a child. It is important that you have adequate
information about all your pregnancy options before you make a decision.