I know pregnancy stops ovulation but i want to know how the hormones work to stop it?

Question

I know pregnancy stops ovulation but i want to know how the hormones work to stop it

ok so i know progesterone stops ovulation. do they stop the follicles maturing as well? as in your ovaries shut down and stop producing hormones for 9 months? thanks!

Answer 1

The main hormones behind ovulation stopping at the start of pregnancy are estrogen and progesterone.  Usually after a mature follicle has released the ovum, the remnants (corpus luteum) will keep the hormone level up.  This keeps the endometrial lining intact and the levels of estrogen inhibit other hormones (LH, FSH, GnRH).  Inhibiting FSH (Follicle stimulating hormone) prevents the initial development of the follicles, LH (Lutenizing hormone) of ovulation.  To top it all off, inhibition of Gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) will prevent release of LH and FSH anyways.  So the inhibition of these hormones during pregnancy does stop any follicles from maturing.

The progesterone and estrogen, then, will not be produced by the ovaries.  Instead, after the corpus luteum can no longer be maintained, these 2 hormones will be produced by the placenta.