We are going to start TTC in about 6-9 months. I am currently on birth control pills.
I was told to stop the pills 3-4 months before starting ttc. But I will be starting a new job in [name_u]January[/name_u] and I want to get a couple months of work under my belt before we start ttc. Therefore I don’t want to go off my pills 4 months before I’m ready and get pregnant right away! I know legally a woman being pregnant should not effect her job, but I don’t really want to be “that girl” who gets hired and is pregnant 3 weeks later, ya know? But I also don’t want to wait until the month we are ready and stop the pills then, because what if it takes 6 months from then to get pregnant? I think that would be very stressful!
Ugh. I don’t know if I am trying to control this situation too much or if I should just stop the pills and see what happens.
Does anyone have some experience they are willing to share?
I am wondering about getting pregnant after the pill? [name_m]How[/name_m] long did it take you or someone you know?
What about jobs? [name_f]Do[/name_f] you think getting pregnant within 6 months or so of starting a new career is a huge no-no???
I’ve beat this conversation to death with my husband, but I am still stressing about it, so I wanted to hear some outside opinions!!
It took my husband and I 8 months to get preggo after I stopped the pills, after being on them for about 15 years. But as you said, there’s lots of women who get pregnant the first or second cycle. My friend [name_f]April[/name_f] got pregnant within a few weeks of stopping, right when she was starting a brand new teaching job. She threw up every day for 6 months and was pretty miserable! But she made it work because that’s how it unfolded for her. Unfortunately, there’s just no way to know or predict it. It’s going to happen how it’s going to happen for you and your body. So you’re going to have to decide which is more important for you and go with that - the job thing or the baby thing. We can all tell you our experiences, they’re all going to vary quite a bit - but your experience will be your own and there’s just no way to predict it. We ended up losing that first pregnancy at 10 weeks, then we waited another year to try again, then it took 2 months for this one (and we’re at 32 weeks now). Some women it will take 2 years, some 2 weeks! Good luck with whatever you choose!
You could get pregnant right away, especially if you take the “mini pill” (progestin only, no estradiol) or it could delay everything just a bit. [name_m]Even[/name_m] if you weren’t taking the pill, it would be completely normal not to get pregnant for a few months just by chance. Getting pregnant is something you just can’t completely control.
You could go off the pill and then switch to barrier methods (condoms, diaphragm, etc.) for a few months. That way the hormones from the pill are out of your system and you have had a few cycles without them (by which time most people are fertile). The barrier method can be stopped whenever you and your partner want on short notice, or continued as long as you need to get settled in your new job.
Be sure to check out what is required to qualify for maternity leave in your province/state. In some jurisdictions you need to be at a job for a certain number of weeks or months to be entitled to pregnancy/parental leave. If that’s the case where you live, you may want to be sure you’ve put in the required amount of weeks first before ttc so you can take advantage of these rights.
It took me almost a year after I stopped taking the pill. But some women can and do get pregnant right away. You can’t really control it, so I think you’re stressing yourself for no reason trying to plan it out. Stop using birth control when you’re ready to have a baby, then give it some time. You could always compromise by stopping hormonal birth control 3-4 months early to give your body a time to adjust and use a barrier method in the mean time until you’re really ready to start trying to concieve, but still don’t expect it to happen on the first try, because it may not.
I suggest talking to your doctor because a lot depends on the pill you’re taking.
You can be off the pill and be careful so you don’t get pregnant right away and start ttc when you’re ready. As far as I know getting pregnant next month after you stop taking the pill might be a bit stressful for your body.
It may take a few months to get pregnant, it may happen right away, but don’t go off the pill without using other BC methods if you aren’t ready to get pregnant right away. If you want to go off the pill before you want to TTC, just use other methods until you are able to say “yes I would be happy if I got pregnant this month.” That’s the best idea I think, but whatever makes you feel the most comfortable is what you should do.
I was taking Alesse because I’m small & my body is very sensitive to hormones (Alesse has a lower dose than a lot of other pills), anyway I came off the pill at the beginning of [name_f]October[/name_f] 2011, and intended to start TTC in [name_u]January[/name_u] 2012… Instead, I got pregnant within just a few days of coming off the pill. I had some bleeding after that but I think it was implantation bleeding rather than an actual period.
I might be just one of those SUPER fertile people though. With this baby I got pregnant while breastfeeding which is fairly unusual.
You could always come off the pill & just use condoms or try not to have sex near ovulation for a few months - that way your body can “detox” from the pill but you can be sure you won’t get pregnant earlier than you plan.
Got pregnant with #4 right after going off the pill (I think it was Lutera) but I am one of those obnoxious “fertile [name_f]Myrtle[/name_f]” types (knock on wood). My husband had recently had his vasectomy reversed, too, so we were very fortunate.
I think gemmav had good advice; just go off it now if you’d like your hormones to re-calibrate, and use barrier methods until you’re really ready.
Going to echo everyone else. BC was a nightmare for me, so I’d give yourself a few months to reset your hormones and look into barrier methods until you’re ready. Chart your cycle while you’re waiting to get a better sense of your cycle without pills. Like everyone said, it could take several months to get pregnant.
My husband and I have been TTC for the past 6 months. I stopped BC right before we started and still trying. I’ve had two friends that got pregnant right after stopping, not even one cycle in between. One of those ladies had twins. I also have a friend who got pregnant while on birthcontrol. Though she was bad at taking it sometimes she was on it for 10 years no issues, then as soon as she starts her Masters Program. Bam baby. Not ideal timing. Though she somehow made it all work, and has an awesome kid and a Masters degree.
With this in mind I stayed on BC until we where ready to start trying. My family is usually hyper fertile so I thought I would get pregnant as soon as I started trying. That was 6 months ago. Still not pregnant. It’s impossible to tell how long it will take.
I was on the pill for 10 years, both times we wanted to ttc, we stopped earlier than planned thinking it would take forever. [name_m]Both[/name_m] times I was pregnant within 2 months! You just never know. Try other methods after you quit the pill until you are truly ready with your job timeline. Good luck!
I was going to start a thread with this title, but I found this one. I hope it’s okay to “resurrect” it since it’s fairly new and might still be helpful to those TTC.
I wanted to add in a note about Depo Provera. It seems a lot of women are on the Pill, and that’s what they think of when they hear “birth control,” but there are other methods of course. Depo was great when I was on it, but boy does it take its sweet time leaving. It takes the average woman nine months (from the date of the last shot) to get her period back. I knew that when I asked for my last shot. What I didn’t factor in was some adjustment time for my cycles to regulate, and I’m sure I had hopes that it would come back earlier. My periods were unpredictable for a while. It ended up being more like a year before I could seriously start TTC. Of course, some women take even longer, and some women get pregnant within a few months. It’s all a gamble and it doesn’t matter if you’ve had one shot, or twenty shots.
If anyone is on Depo and wants to TTC, I would stop a year in advance and go on the Pill, stopping the Pill whenever you are comfortable.
My former obgyn told me to go off the pill 3-4 months before ttc to allow your body time to get back to normal. Makes total sense… But a month after that appt I switched to a new obgyn (for a lot of reasons) and she kind of laughed when I told her what id been told. She very clearly stated that I shouldn’t go off the pill until I was ready to get pregnant because it can happy safely right away, and luckily for my husband and I, probably will for us (that’s what she said anyway, I guess you never know til you try).
Either way, that obviously changed my plan a little bit, as I’m still on the pill now, but will stop it in march.
Thanks for resurrecting this. It’s comforting to hear that someone can still get pregnant after being on the pill long term.
I’m still a few years away from having any children but I was told that I would probably take longer to get pregnant by my OBGYN in Oct due to some issues with a “faulty” ovary (consistant lack of blood flow). OH doesn’t see it as a hold up however I’m afraid between that and being on the pill for what would be 13-14 years that it could take much longer than what he thinks.
A close friend of mine (who was on one of the common bc pills) and I who took the minipill both got pregnant the first month we tried after stopping bc. I had been on it for 11 years and she had been on it at least 5.
My doc told me the same thing, that it’s possible and safe to conceive right away after stopping the pill.
I was on Alesse for 6 years, and we used condoms for a few months after I stopped taking it to let me chart my cycle. My period came back like clockwork after a month, and once we started ttc it only took 2 months to conceive.
I’ve had two friends that got pregnant right after stopping, not even one cycle in between. One of those ladies had twins. I also have a friend who got pregnant while on birthcontrol. Though she was bad at taking it sometimes she was on it for 10 years no issues, then as soon as she starts her Masters Program. Bam baby. Not ideal timing. Though she somehow made it all work, and has an awesome kid and a Masters degree.