Читать книгу Zita West’s Guide to Getting Pregnant - Zita WEST, Zita West - Страница 30

During the first part of the menstrual cycle, when the levels of oestrogen are rising, endorphins are also released, which are your body’s natural painkillers and ‘feel – good’ hormones, elevating mood. Many women say they feel very energized and creative during this phase.

While oestrogen has an effect on the internal reproductive organs, making the womb receptive to a fertilized egg, bringing the top of the Fallopian tube closer to the ovary and increasing its contractions to help the egg move down towards the womb, it also has other effects.

There are highly specialized cells in the cervix, for example, which produce cervical secretions, and their increased activity is directly caused by increased oestrogen. (The importance of these secretions and their role in conception is crucial, and is explained in more detail on page 18.)

Oestrogen also has an effect on libido, your sex drive. As oestrogen levels rise, so does libido – nature’s way of ensuring that sexual intercourse is welcomed close to ovulation. And when an animal is in oestrus, i.e. fertile, we refer to them as being ‘on heat’. This recognition of a link between oestrogen and heat comes partly from the effect of oestrogen on the blood vessels, causing a degree of dilation and increasing the flow of blood and its heat.

A good blood supply helps the organs of the body function properly, as nutrients are brought to cells and waste products removed. The transportation of oxygen in the blood is also important to developing cells, not least the maturing egg in the ovary. This blood supply also keeps tissues plump and supple, whether in the vagina or the tissues of the face. It is this effect that is lost after the menopause, when the lack of oestrogen causes the thinning of the skin and other tissues.

A good blood flow is beneficial to other organs, too, including the brain. Some women’s experience of increased productivity and creativity around ovulation may be explained as their own particular response to oestrogen. On the other hand, for some women this same effect provokes feelings of irritation. It just depends on how your body reacts to and copes with this powerful hormone.

Oestrogen is also essential for maintaining strong bones, as it provides the chemical ‘bridge’ that allows calcium from the diet to be used by the bones, keeping them dense and reducing porosity.