Trying to conceive can be one of the most exciting and anxious times of a woman’s life. There are couples who seem to get pregnant pretty quickly, and then other couples have to try for a few months (or even a year) to get pregnant. The couples who take a bit longer may begin to get “serious” about it. By this, we mean they are tracking their symptoms, they are researching different tricks, and they are testing for ovulation. For some women, this means going to a fertility clinic to help them conceive.
When women need a fertility clinic to help them conceive, they may find out that health class failed them in a lot of ways, because the reproductive system is so much more complex than they had originally thought. They start hearing terms and different names for things that they had no idea about, and one of those things may be the LH hormone. They may hear about an “LH surge” that is supposed to happen once a month, and they are incredibly confused.
We are going to go over the LH hormone and talk about what it is, what it does, and the role it plays in a woman becoming pregnant.
What Is The LH Hormone?
The LH hormone is the luteinising hormone, according to Your Hormones. It is a ‘gonadotrophic’ hormone that is produced by cells in the anterior pituitary gland. This hormone is found in both men and women. In men, it regulates the function in the testicles, and it helps to support the production of sperm. In women, it helps to regulate the ovaries and help the release of an egg.
LH Surge’s Role In Fertility
The LH hormone plays a large part in reproduction and getting pregnant. According to Reproductive Facts, the LH hormone will ‘surge’ in women and then 36 to 40 hours later, an egg will be released. This is an indicator of ovulation, and it is the hormone that over-the-counter ovulation tests look for. Just as a pregnancy test detects the HCG hormone, ovulation tests detect the LH hormone.
When taking an ovulation test, you will always have two lines, but it is considered positive when the two lines are the same darkness. This is because the body always produces LH, contradictory to HCG, but the line will be darkest when there is more of this hormone in the system. After a woman gets the positive test, she will ovulate in the next day or so, and women are advised to have intercourse for the next three days.
When There Is No Surge
The biggest reason for fertility problems in women is ovulation, according to Shady Grove Fertility. When a woman does not ovulate, there is no egg that is released, making it impossible to get pregnant. If a woman tests for ovulation in the middle of her cycle and never gets a positive ovulation test, she is not ovulating. Being unable to detect an LH surge can make it difficult to get pregnant, and it is a big reason why a lot of women visit fertility clinics. The LH surge is a big part of getting pregnant, but it is still something that not a lot of women are aware of.
Sources: Your Hormones, Reproductive Facts, Shady Grove Fertility
About The Author