Significance The fertility of mammalian females depends upon the coordinated development of ovarian follicles and the developing eggs, called oocytes, contained within them. It has been known for many years that the somatic cells of follicles arrest the progression of meiosis in the oocyte until both the follicle and the oocyte are fully developed and ready for ovulation and fertilization. Here we show that, although the somatic compartment of ovarian follicles clearly plays an essential role in the maintenance of oocyte meiotic arrest, this function of the somatic cells is regulated by signals from the oocyte itself.