Amber's Secret
Amber’s Secret
Bio202-
Amber is an 18 year old woman who has found she is feeling sick and unusual. She comes to find out that she is pregnant and consults her doctor. Being concerned of her student status and what her parents might think are her biggest fears. The fetus growing inside her is almost 11 weeks and has her own story from the inside. Mentioning all of the growth that has occurred and the development milestones she has reached, the fetus is concerned of her own well being. The doctor offers Amber the options of abortion and adoption, and then the heart beat will be heard. It is unclear what Amber’s choice is in the end.
1. What are the hormonal and physical changes that occurred in Amber’s normal menstrual cycle before she became pregnant?
Prior to Amber’s pregnancy she went through a normal ovarian cycle. It is stated throughout her story that she is very irregular with her cycle, most women do not have regular cycles until after three years since their first cycle (Marieb & Hoehn 2013) . During the ovarian cycle which she went through to produce an egg, hormones are released through each stage of interaction to regulate the cycle. Gonadotropins are released via the anterior pituitary gland and luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) are secreted. These affect the release of estrogen which through constant feedback with the hypothalamus and pituitary gland, a follicle matures waiting to be fertilized. During this process bursts of different hormones during the ovarian cycle can cause abdominal pain known as mittelschmerz, German for “middle pain” (Marieb & Hoehn 2013). If it is notfertilized it continues into the menstrual cycle, but since Amber became pregnant the fertilized embryo implanted itself into the uterine wall.
2. Apparently Amber did not use a birth control method. If she had, what options did she have and how do the various methods work. Amber had many options of birth control. There is only one
Bio202-
Amber is an 18 year old woman who has found she is feeling sick and unusual. She comes to find out that she is pregnant and consults her doctor. Being concerned of her student status and what her parents might think are her biggest fears. The fetus growing inside her is almost 11 weeks and has her own story from the inside. Mentioning all of the growth that has occurred and the development milestones she has reached, the fetus is concerned of her own well being. The doctor offers Amber the options of abortion and adoption, and then the heart beat will be heard. It is unclear what Amber’s choice is in the end.
1. What are the hormonal and physical changes that occurred in Amber’s normal menstrual cycle before she became pregnant?
Prior to Amber’s pregnancy she went through a normal ovarian cycle. It is stated throughout her story that she is very irregular with her cycle, most women do not have regular cycles until after three years since their first cycle (Marieb & Hoehn 2013) . During the ovarian cycle which she went through to produce an egg, hormones are released through each stage of interaction to regulate the cycle. Gonadotropins are released via the anterior pituitary gland and luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) are secreted. These affect the release of estrogen which through constant feedback with the hypothalamus and pituitary gland, a follicle matures waiting to be fertilized. During this process bursts of different hormones during the ovarian cycle can cause abdominal pain known as mittelschmerz, German for “middle pain” (Marieb & Hoehn 2013). If it is notfertilized it continues into the menstrual cycle, but since Amber became pregnant the fertilized embryo implanted itself into the uterine wall.
2. Apparently Amber did not use a birth control method. If she had, what options did she have and how do the various methods work. Amber had many options of birth control. There is only one
References: 1. Marieb, R.N., Ph.D, E. N., & Hoehn, M.D., Ph.D., K. (2013). Human Anatomy & Physiology (ninth ed., pp. 1035-1089). Glenview, IL: Pearson Education Inc. (Marieb & Hoehn 2013) 2. Birth Control Methods Fact Sheet. (2011, November 21). In womenshealth.gov. Retrieved April 5, 2013, from http://womenshealth.gov/publications/our-publications/fact-sheet/birth-control-methods.cfm#barmet 3. Sexual Health, Birth Control and Condoms. (2012, August 4). In WebMD.com. Retrieved April 5, 2013, from http://www.webmd.com/sex/birth-control/birth-control-condoms?page=3 4. Pregnancy test fact sheet. (2006, April 1). In womenshealth.gov. Retrieved April 5, 2013, from http://womenshealth.gov/publications/our-publications/fact-sheet/pregnancy-tests.cfm#a 5. Cort, J., & Erickson, B. G. (Writer). Lithgow, J. (Narrator). (2001). Life 's Greatest Miracle [Online video]. Retrieved April 5, 2013, from http://video.pbs.org/video/1841157252/ 6. Sajjad, Y. (2010). Development of the genital ducts and external genitalia in the early human embryo. Journal Of Obstetrics & Gynaecology Research, 36(5), 929-937. doi:10.1111/j.1447-0756.2010.01272.x 7. Tortora, G. J., Funke, B. R., & Case, C. L. (2013). Microbiology An Introduction (11th ed., pp. 5-6). Glenview, IL: Pearson Education Inc. 8. Berger, K. (2010). Invitation to the Life Span. New York, NY: Worth Publishers. 9. Current Laws. (2013). In Current Laws: NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado. Retrieved April 18, 2013, from http://www.prochoicecolorado.org/in-our-state/current-laws.shtml