Hormonal regulation of pregnancy - week 1

• During pregnancy, hormones play a significant role in triggering changes in the mother and fetus. • Ormones : • Maintain the lining of the uterus and prevent menstruation. Prepare the mammary glands for lactation. • Increase flexibility of the pubic symphysis. • Affect the mother's metabolic rate and enhance fetal growth. • Determine the timing of birth. • During the first week after fertilization, the ovarian corpus luteum continues to secrete hormones that are essential to maintain the normal female reproductive cycle. • After the blastocyst embeds in the endometrium it secretes human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). • hCG prevents the ovarian corpus luteum from degenerating so that it can continue to secrete estrogen and progesterone which act to maintain the nourishing secretions of the endometrial lining. • Because the levels of progesterone and estrogen are maintained, menstruation does not occur. hCG is detectable in a woman's blood and urine about 8 days after fertilization.

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