hormones and reproduction

• Fertility reduction methods


  • Hormonal methods
  • Non-hormonal methods
• Hormonal methods


  • Oral contraceptives (the combined pill) that contain oestrogen and progesterone, which inhibit FSH production so that no eggs are released
  • An injection, implant or skin patch of slow release progesterone to stop the release of eggs for a number of months or years
• Non-hormonal methods


  • Barrier methods, such as condoms and diaphragms, that prevent the sperm from reaching an egg
  • Intrauterine devices, which prevent embryos from implanting in the uterus
  • Spermicidal creams, which kill or disable sperm
  • Not having intercourse when an egg may be in the oviduct
  • Surgical methods of male and female sterilisation, such as cutting the sperm ducts or tying the fallopian tubes
• Increasing fertility with IVF

  1. Giving a woman FSH and LH to stimulate the growth of many eggs

  2. Collecting the eggs from the woman

  3. Fertilising the eggs with sperm from the father in the laboratory

  4. Inserting one or two embryos into the woman's uterus (womb)
• Fertility treatment


  • It is emotionally and physically stressful
  • The success rates are not high
  • It can lead to multiple births, which are a risk to both the babies and the mother
• Oestrogen


  The main female sex hormone, produced by the ovaries
• Testosterone


  The main male sex hormone, produced by the testes
• Ovulation


  The release of eggs from the ovaries
• Hormones involved in the menstrual cycle

  • Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH)
  • Oestrogen
  • Luteinising hormone (LH)
  • Progesterone
• Control of the menstrual cycle

  1. FSH causes eggs to mature in the ovaries in the first part of the cycle

  2. Oestrogen stimulates the ovaries to produce more oestrogen, and inhibits FSH release

  3. LH stimulates the release of the egg from the ovary (ovulation)

  4. Progesterone maintains the lining of the uterus during the second half of the cycle, and inhibits both FSH and LH release
• An egg is released by ovulation approximately every 28 days, but this timescale can vary considerably between different women