You ask really good questions--here's some information that I hope is helpful.
I probably mis-spoke previously, as when I said "ovulation is a process", it is actually a process that is continually occurring in our bodies from the start of one period to the start of our next period. It has taken me years to fully grasp this cycle; I'm not sure why it's so complicated! :-)
Hormonal contraception ("the pill") works by introducing synthetic hormones (estrogen and progestin) into our bodies that prevent our pituitary glad from releasing the hormones LH & FSH. If we are trying to prevent a pregnancy, we want the synthetic hormones from the pill in our body in a consistent manner, because if "word" (hormones from our pill) does not get to the pituitary gland to stop the release LH & FSH, then those hormones are going to start getting to work. LH & FSH send signals to our ovaries to start maturing an egg, and this then leads to the release of the mature egg (ovulation). Does that make sense?
So, in other words, if you miss a few pills in a row, you are not going to start ovulating immediately---but your pituitary gland may release LH & FSH into your bloodstream, and your ovaries may begin maturing an egg. It is unlikely that this would all occur with just 1 or 2 missed pills, but if you think about the pill having a 0.1% failure rate when used consistently and correctly, it makes sense that our bodies work in mysterious ways. Missing 3 or more pills increases the chance of the pituitary gland kicking in with the release of LH & FSH.
I hope that is more clear, as this is what I meant by "ovulation is a process". The actual release of an egg (ovulation) takes 12-24 days and is a process in-and-of-itself, but our bodies are continually going through the Menstrual Cycle every day.
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You ask really good questions--here's some information that I hope is helpful.
I probably mis-spoke previously, as when I said "ovulation is a process", it is actually a process that is continually occurring in our bodies from the start of one period to the start of our next period. It has taken me years to fully grasp this cycle; I'm not sure why it's so complicated! :-)
Hormonal contraception ("the pill") works by introducing synthetic hormones (estrogen and progestin) into our bodies that prevent our pituitary glad from releasing the hormones LH & FSH. If we are trying to prevent a pregnancy, we want the synthetic hormones from the pill in our body in a consistent manner, because if "word" (hormones from our pill) does not get to the pituitary gland to stop the release LH & FSH, then those hormones are going to start getting to work. LH & FSH send signals to our ovaries to start maturing an egg, and this then leads to the release of the mature egg (ovulation). Does that make sense?
So, in other words, if you miss a few pills in a row, you are not going to start ovulating immediately---but your pituitary gland may release LH & FSH into your bloodstream, and your ovaries may begin maturing an egg. It is unlikely that this would all occur with just 1 or 2 missed pills, but if you think about the pill having a 0.1% failure rate when used consistently and correctly, it makes sense that our bodies work in mysterious ways. Missing 3 or more pills increases the chance of the pituitary gland kicking in with the release of LH & FSH.
I hope that is more clear, as this is what I meant by "ovulation is a process". The actual release of an egg (ovulation) takes 12-24 days and is a process in-and-of-itself, but our bodies are continually going through the Menstrual Cycle every day.
Here are some great sites that actually illustrate (in animated cartoon-format) how the hormones work and when menstruation happens; also what happens in our body when we are using hormonal contraception:
July 29, 2009 - 8:11pm- Menstruation Cycle: How Hormones Work to Prevent Pregnancy
- The Menstrual Cycle Graph
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