Many women go through middle school and high school without ever knowing what ovaries actually are. Ovaries are small round shaped glands that are attached to the uterus via the fallopian tubes. Ovaries store eggs, which are what a female body releases during ovulation. If sperm is present to fertilize the egg, that’s how a baby is made.
It can be hard to envision, unless you have seen many pictures of the female reproductive system. The cervix leads into uterus which connects through the fallopian tubes to the ovaries. Think of the ovaries like small nest of eggs and then it travels through the fallopian tubes like a subway to the uterus.
The uterus often gets a lot more discussion than ovaries, even though the ovaries contain all the eggs. Did you know that as a woman- you are born with all the eggs you will ever have in your lifetime? The ovaries do play a very important role in hormone production.
Ovaries produce two hormones: estrogen and progesterone. We all know that those two hormones are important for the female hormone balance, menstrual cycles and pregnancy.
There are numerous potential dysfunctions and diseases that can involve the ovaries – here are some examples:
Potential symptoms can include and range from:
-Bleeding
-Pelvic or lower abdominal Pain
-Irregular period cycles
-Severe Period Pain
Unfortunately these are a very common list of symptoms to experience for a variety of reasons. So there are not for sure indicators, you would have to seek a healthcare providers consults and special tests to confirm any diagnosis.
If you feel like you are having some problems with your ovaries, and experiencing any the symptoms- it’s important to reach out to your primary care healthcare provider, OB/GYN, or midwife. If you are currently seeing a pelvic floor physical therapist, you can also bring up those symptoms to them.
