Conception and The Pill

People who use contraception can usually be categorized into 2 different groups. There are the ones that are using because they do not want a baby right now for a a variety of reasons, and the ones that don't desire children at all. Permanent birth control options are available for the second group, but the former group has a seriously broader range of strategies to choose from. Among these methods would be the ever popular usage of the contraception pill, this technique can cause problems once you've got a desire to get pregnant.

Essentially, "the pill" works by altering hormone levels in the woman's body to make it believe that the woman is already pregnant. This has the consequences of interrupting the normal menstrual cycle and stopping the ovaries from releasing the egg cell, which in turn prevents conception. There are one or two side-effects that may be connected to these hormonal alterations, but in general, the feeling is they work fine. Most women are mindful of what "the pill" does and have some imprecise notion of how it works, but generally lack any concrete idea of what takes place when they stop taking it.

Whether or not a woman wants to have a baby and has stopped taking the pill, there are still a few things that have to be checked and remembered. Most importantly, using contraceptive pills truly changes a woman's hormonal make-up. These hormone changes delay the completion of the woman's ovulation cycle. Each pill taken increases the duration of the delay. The body is basically forced to adjust by the results of manmade hormones the pills trigger, putting off the risk of pregnancy by fooling the body into believing it already is pregnant. If a woman stops taking the pill, the body will need some time to adjust to this new situation and, fundamentally, pick the ovulation cycle up where it left off. After pregnancy, hormone levels drop off and the body returns to normalcy. The same principle applies when a woman stops using contraception.

Generally, it takes 3 full months for the body to get back to its natural rhythm and fully get over the pills. Nonetheless there are some cases where this does not occur and the body remains, for lack of a better word, sterile. Some companies have developed hormonal treatments to fix this, which are designed to kick start the process of ovulation that contraceptive pills have stalled. In this situation, it really comes down to little more than hormone levels and knowing which hormones to modify (and how much) to achieve the desired effect in the body. It should be noted, though, that these hormone medicines don't always work.

In cases where it has taken more than 3 months for the body to get back to normal hormone production, it may be cautious to consult a physician. While considered unlikely, it is feasible that long-term use of birth control pills can interrupt the natural hormone-production process for women, even after the drug is no longer used. As mentioned there are hormonal pharmaceuticals that can help the body start correcting that problem, but these should be taken if advised by a doctor.