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| Home > Reproductive Anatomy > Conception
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| | Conception in Preganancy
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The sperms in the seminal fluid after getting deposited in the vaginal tract, make their way through the cervix into the uterus . Conception takes place when a single sperm penetrates or fertilizes an ovum, forming a single cell initiating a new life in your womb. As many as 150 million to 450 million sperms may reach the ovum. While most of the sperms assist in penetration by dissolving the substances that surround the egg, only one can penetrate the ovum. Post fertilization, other sperms are prevented from penetrating the ovum further through a chemical reaction. Fertilization takes place in the outer one-third of the fallopian tube. The fertilized ovum travels along the fallopian tube and several days later embeds within the lining of the uterus.
The genetic characteristics that your unborn child will inherit from its parents are determined in the process of conception. The ovum with the sperm contains 23 chromosomes - about half the number in all human cells. These chromosomes carry the genetic material. The union of ovum and sperm, that is the fertilized ovum, hence carry the full complement of 46 chromosomes - 23 from the mother and 23 from the father. They combine to give the baby unique inherited characteristics and traits such as skin, hair and eye color; approximate height and body shape; blood type; sex; and many others.
One pair of chromosomes will determine the unborn child`s sex. Women have XX chromosomes pair. Hence the ovum will always carry X chromosomes. It means that the baby will always get one X from the mother. Men have XY chromosomes pair. Hence some sperm may carry X chromo-somes while others can carry Y chromosomes. Consequently, the sex of your unborn child is determined by the chromosome that the father contributes, For example, if a sperm carrying an X chromosome fertilizes the egg, the baby is a girl (XX); if the sperm carrying a Y chromosome fertilizes the egg. the baby is a boy (XY).
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