birth control pills

R

ruppie

Cathlete
Sorry to write this write this on this particular forum, as maybe I'm not quite in this category yet, but this is where I come for all my advice anyway!! So - my DH and I are just starting to talk about ttc, and currently I'm on birth control pills. I just heard from a friend of mine that a dr. told her that while you're on the BCP that you don't drop any eggs, and that your periods are only your uterous flushing out. Is this true? She said that if you are thinking of ttc that you should be off the BCP's for at least 3 months, so that you start dropping them again. (granted, for some people it can happen immediately, but this is the advice he gave her). Is this true? I know about taking folic acid as prenatal vitamins, but I didn't know when to stop the BCPs.
Thanks for any advice!!
 
You should discuss this with your doctor, but the standard advice is to stop the pill 3 mos. before TTC. Your friend is correct, the pill prevents ovulation (egg releasing), which is one of the ways it prevents pregnancy. On the pill, you have a withdrawal bleed. A 28 day pack of pills has 21 days of pills containing hormones and 7 days of placebo pills (no hormones). Once the hormones are stopped, the uterus sheds the lining of the uterus. This mimics a 28 day cycle in a non-contracepting woman.

The 3 month wait is for dating purposes (dating the pregnancy). In other words, it is easier to calculate how far along you are if you have been having regular periods. There is no evidence that getting pregnant immediately harms the baby.

HTH!

Autumn
 
I'm going to ask a really stupid question then? How does someone get pregnant while on birth control if you are releasing any eggs?
 
Autumn, thanks - this is exactly what she was saying that the doctor told her. I honestly didn't know that at all. And I certainly know that when you plan to start trying doesn't mean it's going to happen right away, if at all, but I really didn't realize the major effects the bcp had on the planning part of it.
HeatherRH - I was wondering the same thing! That's why I wasn't sure she was right. I'm still not sure. Maybe the 99% effective rate means that 1% of the time it fails and the egg actually drops? Or that's what happens when you miss the pill a couple times?

I love this forum. If God willing it ever happens, I will be on here all the time. (not to mention I lurk here just to hear what it's like! you ladies are wonderful!)
 
>I'm going to ask a really stupid question then? How does
>someone get pregnant while on birth control if you are
>releasing any eggs?


:7 :7 :7 ROTFL!!

I believe it occurs because you do ovulate. You screwed up with the pills and now your preggo! But your body does have to release an egg.

I hope I don't have the wrong answer. Then I'll feel really, really, really stupid!!:eek:
 
Let me first stress, the PILLS (and other hormonal methods) prevent ovulation. There are other methods of BIRTH CONTROL that work in other ways.

Well, you ladies are correct... it is only 99% effective. Here is a link to a page that lists the various brands of pills... clink on any brand of pills and search a little and it will say something like "the primary action of the pill is to inhibit ovulation".
http://www.arhp.org/healthcareproviders/resources/contraceptionresources/productPT.cfm
The pills also thin the lining of the uterus (which decreases the chance of implantation) and thicken the cervical mucus (making it difficult for the sperm to swim). There are the small percentage of women who become pregnant on the pill... it is 99% effective... but the only 100% effective method is abstinence or removal of the reproductive organs. :) It is likely that many pill pregnancies are due to patient error, but even with perfect use there is the slight rsik of pregnancy.

Best of luck to you! HTH!
 
Hi Ruppie

I was interested in your thread because I just stopped taking BCPs last month in anticipation of ttc. I asked my doctor last year about how long to wait after ending the BCPs before ttc, and she said that it was safe to try right away. Still, I felt I wanted to stop taking them earlier to feel like they were totally out of my system and to get my body used to my natural cycles - no real medical reason, I just felt more comfortable that it was the right thing to do... DH and I will probably wait a few more months before ttc. I hope I have made the right decision, because I just turned 37 and the old biological clock is ticking! Anyway, good luck to you and maybe we'll both end up "seeing" more of each other on this particular forum! :)
 
My ob/gyn also mentioned the thinning of the uterus as a reason to be off the pill for three full cycles before TTC.
 
Peachy, I have heard this from patients, but as specialist pointed out... if the lining is thin then the how is implantation going to take place? The only reason to delay attempting pregnancy a month or two is to improve the accuarcy of dating the pregnancy according to experts Speroff, Glass, & Kase (2001). I think some docs err on the side of caution, but there could always be evidecne surface that changes how we advise.

The pills are out of your system almost immediately. If you ovulate, have a good lining, and good mucus... then the contraceptive beneifts are gone. However, it can take a few months for your endocrine system to get restarted. Does that make sense? But, you have to do what you feel comofortable doing.

Take care & good luck!
 
all the responses are very accurate. i will just add my two cents and say it only depends on your body how long it will take you to conceive. i stopped my bcp's in nov. and was pregnant in dec!!
good luck...:)
 
Exactly sunneydelite. As with everything else woman, post-pill fertility varies. Of course, fertilty varies contracption or no contraception. Women get pregnant on the pill, immediately after stopping the pill, sometimes months after the pill. Some women don't even start having periods until several months after discontinuing the pill.

I want to add this, there is no evidence to support the pill causes infertility.

Women's health is so much fun!
 
Wow everyone, thanks for all the great responses. I have an appt. with my dr. in a couple weeks, but wanted to know because I'm finishing up a cycle of bcps now, and am thinking of not continuing. Snowbee, I'm feeling exactly the way you sound you are! I'd like to get it out of my system and see what my natural cycles are like. The question comes up though if we want to wait a couple months before ttc, how are you going to schedule NOT getting pregnant? I was thinking of trying to avoid the fertile days by mapping it on the calendar, but as Autumn mentioned that might be hard to do just coming off the bcps?

It's such a strange set of emotions I'm going through with this thought process - first, if I stop them and immediately get pregnant before our plan (just a couple months away), of course that wouldn't really be a bad thing, right? And that triggers, whoa! What an overwhelming thought, starting a family. And then - wait, isn't it strange to 'plan' it anyway, who knows if we can even concieve! Some couples have a really hard time conceiving, if at all! And that makes me want to start trying right away.

:) Thanks for letting me express my thoughts. All you ladies are such a wonderful resource for getting information on this subject! Not to mention wonderful motivators when reading your experiences going through it yourselves!
 
"The question comes up though if we want to wait a couple months before ttc, how are you going to schedule NOT getting pregnant?"

I'll tell you what the nurse-midwife very matter-of-factly told me: condoms. ;)

(Now you can say "EEK! I haven't needed those in forever!" I think that's probably a normal reaction. :))

Best of luck with your journey!
 
LOL!!! :7 Oh peachy, that just cracked me up!!!! Mostly because I didn't even think of that!!! how funny! Great point!
 
When I quit taking BCP, my period resumed its normal cycle (thank goodness!!) and has been regular since. You might take a look at the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility-- lots of good info. on charting, things to look for in your cycle to let you know when you're most likely to conceive, etc. It also has a section on the various things that can happen to a woman's period when going off the pill.

Hope this helps:)
L
 
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