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Tips for Getting Pregnant after Stopping Birth Control
Posted on: 15-Oct-2020
You’ve got the job, the house, and the partner. Finally, the time feels right. You are ready to start trying to conceive. Now what? How long before trying to conceive should you stop using your birth control? Will using birth control in the past make it harder to get pregnant now? What can you do to get your body ready for pregnancy?
The first step in trying to conceive is to stop using your current birth control. Each birth control method acts a little differently on the body to prevent pregnancy. You will need to know how and when to stop the specific type you use. Here is when you can expect fertility to return for these common types.
- Pills. There are two types of birth control pills. Both work by using hormones in the body to prevent pregnancy.Combined pills work by usingtwohormones, estrogen and progestin,to suppress ovulation (the release of an egg from the ovary.)The hormones in these pills leave the body within a couple of days after you stop taking the pill. Once the hormones are gone ovulation can resume. At that time, you are fertile and pregnancy can occur. It is recommended to finish the month’s worth of combined pills to keep from confusing the body by sudden change in hormones. Mini-pills contain only progestin and work bypreventing sperm from reaching the egg. Progestin leaves the body in around 24 hours allowing fertility to return quickly. Mini-pills can be stopped at any time.
- Intrauterine device (IUD) and Implants. There are two types of IUDs, copper and hormonal. Both types must be removed by your doctor. Once your IUDis removed,it is possible to ovulate within the first month. Like an IUD, your doctor must remove your implant. Once removed, you can get pregnant right away.
- Patch and Vaginal Ring. Ovulation usually returns 1-3 months after removal for both patches and vaginal rings at which point it is possible to get pregnant.
- Injections (Depo-Provera). This type of birth control requires longer than others for normal fertility to return. Since hormones are released gradually, it takes longer for them to leave the body. This can take anywhere from 3-18 months for fertility to return. Therefore, it is not recommended for those who are trying to conceive in the near future.
In addition to stopping your birth control, you will want to take steps to prepare your body for pregnancy. Start taking a prenatal vitamin three months before trying to conceive. Vitamins, along with a healthy diet, are crucial to help ensure that your body is ready tosupport a healthy pregnancy. Lifestyle choices like exercising, reducing stress, quitting smoking, and cutting back on alcohol intake are all very important as well. These will help increase fertility as well as give you a healthy start to your pregnancy.
The third step as you try to conceive, is learning more about your body so that you can recognize when you are fertile. Timing sex during your fertile window (the five days before ovulation and the day you ovulate) increases your chances of becoming pregnant quickly. Tracking your menstrual cycle with apps that note changes in your cervical mucus and basal temperatures can help you determine your fertile window. Ovulation tests are another option to help recognize when you are most fertile.
The good news is that long-term fertility is not negatively affected by birth control use. If you have decided the time is right to get pregnant, most forms of birth control allow you to become fertile again within a few days to a few months. It is then safe to get pregnant right away. Most women will become pregnant within a year of stopping birth control. However,the time it takes to conceive will depend on your individual body so if at anytime you have questions or concernsabout your fertility check with your doctor.
Dr. Anil Pinto is board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology and the subspecialty of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. Dr. Pinto has a special interest in the treatment of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), recurrent pregnancy loss, and advanced reproductive technologies, such as IVF. His peers recently selected him as one of the Best Doctors in Dallas in the field of reproductive endocrinology and infertility. Dr. Pinto is married to Karen Pinto, M.D., a pathologist at Baylor University Medical Center. They live in Dallas with their son and daughter. Dr. Pinto enjoys fly fishing, classical music, and playing the flute.
If you're considering stopping birth control for any reason, it's important to understand your reproductive system so you aren't shocked by a pregnancy or disappointed that it didn't happen immediately.
"I tell my patients not to stop their birth control until they're ready to get pregnant," says Dr. Leena Nathan, an OB-GYN at University of California, Los Angeles Health. Whether it's the IUD, the pill or another birth control method, most people return to their normal fertility "pretty much immediately."
Some patients who stop birth control conceive before their first period off the pill, Nathan says. And while everyone's body is different and not everyone will get pregnant the month they stop the pill or remove their IUD, there's no fertility latency period for the majority of birth control methods out there.
There are many different types of birth control: pills, patches, condoms, sponges and T-shaped devices that sit in your uterus. And like always, no two people are alike, and factors other birth control use play into someone's chance of conceiving. So how can you know when you'll be fertile after foregoing birth control and letting your reproductive system do its thing?
The return of fertility after stopping the pill
Birth control pills either have a combination of two hormones, estrogen and progestin, which work primarily by stopping ovulation, or come as progestin-only pills (also called the "mini pill") which mostly work by disrupting fertilization through changes to the cervical mucus and uterine lining. With either pill, you're safe to start trying to conceive immediately after you stop taking the pill, Nathan says. (In other words, the claim that you need to wait three months is a myth.)
Because ovulation resumes quickly after birth control pills, you should start another birth control method immediately if you don't want to get pregnant (and are having sex with someone who produces sperm). Also, if you're starting a new hormonal birth control method, like the pill or a hormonal IUD, they can take up to a week to become effective at preventing pregnancy.
In addition to stopping conception, birth control pills are also used to lessen painful or heavy periods, regulate cycles or help with other hormone-related concerns. Dr. Shari Lawson, assistant professor of gynecology and obstetrics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, says that sometimes patients have been on the pill for so long, they forget the reasons they started it in the first place.
"The pill is just engineered to give you a regular period, but that's completely manufactured," Lawson says. "So once you stop taking the pill, your body's going to go back to what its normal cycle is." This means that if you had irregular periods before going on the pill, and then regular periods with the pill, you should expect your periods to be irregular again once you stop taking the pill.
How long till I'm fertile after taking out my IUD?
Whether it's the copper IUD (Paragard) or one of the hormone-releasing IUDS, you can get pregnant right away after your IUD comes out. The copper IUD prevents fertilization because the copper it releases is toxic to sperm, so it never stops ovulation or your "real" menstrual cycle. The IUDs with hormones, such as Mirena, sometimes stop ovulation but mostly work because the progestin they release thickens the cervical mucus and thins the lining of the uterus.
The only method that can delay someone's return to fertility is Depo Provera, Nathan says, which is an injection or shot of progestin you get at a doctor's office. According to the Mayo Clinic, it might take as long as 10 months for ovulation to resume after stopping the shot (but it could start much sooner).
In terms of other birth control methods: Barrier methods such as condoms don't prevent pregnancy once you stop using them. As far as the NuvaRing or "the patch" is concerned, these methods release the same hormones as combination birth control pills, meaning they temporarily stop ovulation and it will quickly resume again for most people. Fertility after removing your birth control implant, Nexplanon, also resumes as soon as it's taken out. (The implant, in particular, is known for being extremely effective as birth control.)
The copper IUD (Paragard) doesn't use hormones to prevent pregnancy. Other IUDs release small amounts of the synthetic hormone progestin, which mimics the natural hormone progesterone.
LalocracioHow long does it take to get pregnant?
If you have regular cycles (occurring every 24 to 34 days), Lawson says, and you're engaging in "regularly timed intercourse," you have an 85% chance of conceiving within a year. For a person under the age of 35, conceiving in the first month of trying, or the 10th, can be considered normal. Patients in this group are given a year of actively trying to get pregnant before an evaluation for infertility is recommended.
For patients who are age 35 and up, the recommendation is to try for six months, then go in if pregnancy hasn't happened. That's because someone's egg quality starts to decline around age 35, making pregnancy, on average, a little more difficult.
Age is not the only factor that impacts someone's ability to conceive. Common conditions including polycystic ovary syndrome, endometriosis and having a past pelvic inflammatory infection can make pregnancy more difficult. Lifestyle factors, like alcohol consumption, smoking or even exercising too much, can also impact someone's fertility, according to the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists.
What's more, health professionals estimate one-third of fertility issues stem from the other partner, most commonly with their sperm, according to the ACOG.
Chemical pregnancies, or very early miscarriages, are also common and can happen before someone even realizes they were pregnant. Such early miscarriages most commonly happen because of problems in the embryo.
Aside from chemical pregnancy, early pregnancy loss in general (also called miscarriage or spontaneous abortion) occurs within the first trimester (13 weeks) of pregnancy, and happens in about 10% of known pregnancies, according to the ACOG.
Are you more fertile after birth control?
Lawson says that while it's not likely, there's information that suggests that being on a combination birth control pill that suppresses your ovaries raises the "possibility that you may have more than one ovulation event," meaning two eggs could be released and the likelihood of at least one of them getting fertilized is greater.
Infertility doctors may also put their patients on birth control pills to keep their uterine lining "nice and clean" prior to pregnancy initiation, Nathan says. But for the average patient? "That's a myth," she says.
Read more to find out what happens each month and trimester of pregnancy, and what doctors say about COVID-19 vaccines and future pregnancy.
The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.