Going off birth control and trying to conceive

[cooktre]

Hi everybody! DH and I are ready to start trying to conceive after getting the financial house in order and are very excited!

I've been taking prenatals and folic acid (doctor prescribed) for about 5 months. But I've stayed on birth control (pill/Ocella) during that time.

My question is how long should we wait to try? I've heard/read that it's fine to go ahead and there is no increased chance of miscarriage or birth defects. But then I'll see things that say it's best to wait since there can be problems. Some sites say to wait a month, some say to wait a YEAR!?! That's nuts, methinks :).

I'm going to ask my doctor, but does anyone have experience here? Did your doctors say one thing or another? I just hate to wait a long time and use condoms during that time when we are so excited to get started, but, then again, we want to be smart too without getting into the "crazy-anxiety" stuff and being overly nervous and anxious, kwim?

[VJWilson27]

WOOHOOOO!!!! I'm so excited for you girl! You are gonna make an awesome mom. Peyton said so...lmao

I never was on birth control because my body and them did NOT get along, but I have always read that it's okay to start trying immediately. Think of how many healthy babies are born when moms were actually (oops) ON birth control. I don't think there's any reason to use a condom.

That said... I would definitely get the book "take charge of your fertility". There's some AWESOME information in there on how to get pregnant or NOT get pregnant... LOL

A tip that a friend of mine who had trouble TTC told me. (Trying to be PC here) After your DH has, well finished, it's best to, um, enjoy yourself, as the contractions dips the cervix into the pool of sperm and allows them to travel to the egg more easily. Usually the guys love this part... LMAO

Good Luck and Have Fun!

[brandasa]

I just went to the doctor monday with the same question. I was told to finish my last pack, then wait a month (more like 5-6 weeks he said b/c of your body adjusting to not having a pill) and then start trying after having that "natural" period. He said to use condoms during that 5-6 weeks, but there is only a 1-2% increase in birth defects/miscarriages if you would happen to get pregnant in that time period.

[oceanbreeze]

From my experience...

I went right from birth control to fertility treatments. No natural period allowed, because i would have a cycle that would never end. I was scared, but we forged ahead.

The treatment didn't work, and we were facing more treatments-- they are hard to go through (mentally, physically) so i said no thanks and i stayed off the pill. We just charted each month to see when it started, how long a full cycle was and tried to guess the fertile days. There was no waiting period in between going off the pills and TTC. The doctors did not say anything would be wrong with doing that so we were ok with thier word on this.

That was beginning in march of this year. Now, we are pregnant 5 wks along.

I wish you the best of luck on your journey, please do not get stressed out and caught up in this so that it eats up your life and consumes your every thought. Its very easy to let that happen and it can work against trying to get pregnant.

[Sweet_Southern_Mama]

I was off them for 4 months before conceiving and had a miscarriage. I don't think the pill was the cause of it though. Early miscarriages are fairly common in first pregnancies. I'm not telling you this to scare you but I wish I had known so I wouldn't have been so devastated when it happened. In just a couple of weeks we'll know if I'm pregnant again. My doctor was very positive about trying soon after the MC.

That said, I agree with most of the PPs. There are too many healthy babies born when mothers were on the pill for several weeks after they got pregnant that we can hardly link the pill to complications.

[shoppinglinda223]

When we were trying to conceive, my doctor preferred for me to wait one month (one full cycle) after stopping the pill, only because it would be easier to calculate conception and due date. However, she said it was not necessary. I was on the pill for 16 years prior to this. I got pregnant our 2nd month of trying. I was told to take prenatals for at least 3 months before trying to conceive too, but you are already doing that.

This is an exciting time for you. Hope all goes smoothly.

Sending some sticky vibes your way.......

[pwetypweas]

I went off Nuvaring in April, my cycle took about 2 months to reset (didn't have a 'normal' period during that time). We still haven't concieved but I was on BC for 11+ years and the doctor said it could take up to a year. However in regards to your question, he told us it was OK to start trying immediately. (I'm still not preggers but it's not something you can control - I wish you luck)

[kandpsmom]

We conceived baby #2 2 months after going off the pill and I had a miscarriage. I had been on it for 4 1/2 years at the time so I do believe it played a part in the mc. After that I was told to wait 1 cycle so that my body could cleanse itself. I got pregnant on the first try after that and delivered a 9 pound 3 ounce baby boy at 39 weeks.

[CJOVANALST]

Start trying ASAP! I was off BC for 8 months before conceiving DD1 and was on the pill when conceived DD2. Both are happy, healthy little girls. My SIL got pregnant within the first month of going off her pill and he is just as healthy as my little ones.

[MelissaRaeCake]

I would wait a month or two to really start trying. Have at least one period on your own, rather than it being "forced" by the pill. Meanwhile, YES, get the book Taking Charge of your Fertility. Or at least visit the website: tcoyf.com.