BIRTH CONTROL & FERTILITY

GETTING PREGNANT AFTER BIRTH CONTROL

If you are having trouble conceiving after being on birth control pills (or other hormonal methods of birth control), it may take some time for your body to become fertile again. This varies greatly from woman to woman. Some women get their cycles back relatively soon after coming off the pill, while it can take up to a year or even two for other women.

And, even when a cycle returns and seems relatively normal, important signs that indicate health and optimal balance may still be missing. For example, a woman may experience short luteal phases for the first few months, making fertilization possible but successful implantation difficult. It’s recommended to discontinue use of hormonal birth control at least 3-6 months prior to your desired conception date.

With compassion, the latest scientific knowledge, and years of experience, Dr. Harper is here to offer you the holistic medical support you need to naturally balance your body when you discontinue birth control, so that you’re in the best position to have a successful pregnancy, when you are ready.

How “The Pill” Works

Birth control pills influence a woman’s hormonal reproductive system. The hormones in “the pill” block the hormones necessary for ovulation, while preventing the cervix from producing fertile cervical fluid, and preventing the uterine lining from producing a suitable thickness and environment for egg fertilization.

A woman’s cycle tends to be more exact or regular on birth control pills vs off of birth control pills, because bleeding is controlled through the synthetic hormones in the birth control pill. After the pill is stopped, you may find that your cycles are irregular for a period of time and/or may return to whatever pattern of bleeding you had prior to starting the pill. If you had menstrual irregularity prior to starting the pill, you can likely expect that your cycles will be irregular once again off the pill.

There are a variety of patterns a woman can see after discontinuation of birth control pills which include:
• High or low temperatures
• Temperatures that do not match with the cervical fluid you are making
• Little or excessive cervical fluid, of unusual consistency
• Heavier or lighter bleeding than when you were on the pill
• Spotting during the luteal phase of your cycle or prior to menstruation
• Short luteal phases

Stopping Birth Control Pills

Many women are prescribed birth control pills to help “regulate their cycles”. However, since a birth control pill cannot fix the underlying hormonal imbalance causing these symptoms, once the pill is stopped, the hormonal imbalances causing the menstrual problems usually resume.

Birth control pills shut down a woman’s natural hormonal production and replace it with the synthetic hormones contained in the birth control pill. While on birth control pills, ovulation does not occur despite monthly bleeding and pregnancy is therefore prevented. Bleeding on the pill occurs not because the body is seeing the rise and fall of normal estrogen and progesterone with ovulation as nature intended, but because the precise timing of synthetic hormones is provided to mimic a natural cycle.

Many women find that when they come off the pill, they are in the same position as when they started, with heavy, irregular cycles. Further, they discover that the same issues that contribute to menstrual irregularity may contribute to difficulty conceiving. Because there is no way to predict when cycles and ovulation will return to a normal pattern after discontinuation of the pill, it is best to use temperature and cervical fluid analysis to determine when fertility has returned.