OB/GYN: Roy Pitkin, M.D.
Can I start trying to have a baby as soon as I take my last birth-control pill, or should I wait to clear the drug out of my system?
By Roy Pitkin, M.D.
There are no known adverse effects in conceiving right after taking oral contraceptives. However, doing so can make it difficult to calculate your due date. A woman's menstrual cycle is often irregular immediately after she stops taking birth-control pills; in particular, the timing of ovulation during the first cycle is quite unpredictable. So if you were to conceive during that first cycle, the standard method of estimating the start of the pregnancy by pinpointing the first day of your last period would be unreliable. Ideally, after stopping the Pill, you should use barrier forms of contraception for two to three months before trying to conceive. If conception occurs within these first two or three months, it may be advisable to use some alternative method of estimating pregnancy, such as ultrasound.
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The content on these pages is provided as general information only and should not be substituted for the advice of your physician.
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