When you decide you want to get pregnant but aren’t able to, it’s natural to start thinking about possible reasons why you’re having trouble. If you have been on birth control for years, you may have assumed that you’d get pregnant soon after discontinuing birth control. When you don’t get pregnant after several months, you may start wondering if birth control is having a lingering impact on your body.
Does birth control affect fertility? No matter what type of hormonal birth control you have been using, it’s not the cause of your fertility challenges even if you’ve been on it for several years. While you’re on birth control, pregnancy is prevented, but once you discontinue birth control, your hormones gradually go back to normal.
Menstrual Irregularities After Stopping Birth Control
While you’re on birth control, your periods are stable and predictable or they may disappear altogether. After discontinuing hormonal birth control, it may take a few months for your hormones to stabilize. You may experience a delay in having your periods start again and you may not ovulate right away.
The length of the delay can be related to the type of birth control you were using. If you were using injectable contraceptives, it may take six months or longer for your hormones to stabilize. It may take three or four months for hormones to stable after coming off other types of hormonal contraceptives. Some women are able to get pregnant within the first month after stopping birth control.
Having difficulty conceiving after discontinuing birth control is more likely to be related to age than to using birth control for a period of time. Fertility naturally declines with age so whether you ever used birth control, you’ll have a harder time getting pregnant over the age of 35 than you had when you were younger.
Problems Covered Up By Birth Control
While hormonal birth control doesn’t cause infertility, it sometimes masks conditions that can cause fertility problems. Birth control makes monthly cycles regular, which means that signs of possible problems like having irregular periods or very heavy periods may disappear while you’re on hormonal contraceptives. Then when you decide to discontinue birth control, it may become apparent something isn’t right.
It’s natural to be concerned that something may be wrong with you if you’re unable to conceive, but infertility isn’t always caused by problems with women. It can also be caused by problems with the man or by problems with both the woman and the man.
There are many possible causes of infertility, but birth control isn’t one of them. You’re considered infertile if you’re under 35 and haven’t been able to get pregnant after a year of unprotected sex or if you’re over 35 and you’ve been unable to get pregnant after six months of unprotected sex.
The team at the Center for Reproductive Health is committed to helping people understand available treatment options for infertility. For more information, schedule an appointment for a comprehensive examination and evaluation or call with any questions you may have.
