There's a window of opportunity for conception - about 5 days generally, and
it is dependent on how long the sperm are viable and at what point in time
the egg is released and survives. My understanding is that in most cases
sperm are good for about 2 days but can be viable up to 5, while the egg is
more time-limited - 24 hours or so. I've never heard that teenagers' eggs
"last longer" but there is an excellent book by Toni Wechsler that covers
all aspects of ovulation, fertility, etc in great detail that is also highly
readable. Did your student argue that teenagers get pregnant more easily
because their eggs last longer?
Sally
Capilano U
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rob Weisskirch" <rweisski...@csumb.edu>
To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)"
<tips@acsun.frostburg.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, December 09, 2009 9:39 AM
Subject: [tips] Fertility and teen pregnancy
Tipsfolk,
In my review for my adolescent development class, a student was
asserting that greater fertility influences teen pregnancy. When I
asked for further explanation, she said some people are just more
fertile and get pregnant easier because of a longer window of
ovulation.
This just didn't make sense to me. There's fertile (releasing an ovum
each month) and then there's problems with fertility (e.g., hormone
levels, lack of ovulation, etc.). Can one person be more fertile than
another? What does more fertile mean? Please refrain from referring
to anyone who has a reality show and a litter of children.
Thanks,
Rob
Rob Weisskirch, MSW. Ph.D.
Professor 90.77% Furlough 9.23%
Associate Professor of Human Development
Certified Family Life Educator
Liberal Studies Department
California State University, Monterey Bay
100 Campus Center, Building 82C
Seaside, CA 93955
(831) 582-5079
rweisski...@csumb.edu
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