What Happens if a Couple Has Sex Near the Time of Ovulation?
Sperm from the guy’s penis enters the vagina when he ejaculates (a little is also released just before!). To help his sperm travel, she secretes a watery mucus. The sperm find their way from the vagina through her cervix and uterus, and eventually travel out to the ends of her Fallopian tubes. There they search for an egg, sometimes waiting more than four days. If they find the egg, the sperm attempt to penetrate it. Fertilization is the successful joining of an egg and sperm, triggering the start of a pregnancy. As soon as fertilization occurs, the genetic material within the two sex cells (egg and sperm) combines. Shortly thereafter the new embryo-to-be begins dividing: one cell becomes two cells. Two becomes four. Four becomes 16. (You get the point.) After three days, the microscopic cell mass travels down the Fallopian tube and burrows into the thick lining of the uterus. In most cases, approximately eight-and-a-half months later, a baby is born.
