You have been on birth control pill for a while . You are now ready to conceive. You may have a lot of questions going though your mind such as

• how soon can I get pregnant after stopping birth control ?
• will birth control affect my fertility ?
• are there any health issues I will face ?

How soon after stopping a birth control can I conceive ?

You may have only about a 2 week delay before you ovulate again after stopping the birth control pill. It may take about 4 to 6 weeks after your last pill for your period to resume again. Once you start ovulating , you can get pregnant.  If ovulation occurs within the first cycle and you get pregnant, you may not get your period at all.

How soon can I start trying to conceive after stopping the birth control pill ?

You can start trying to get pregnant as  soon as you stop taking the birth control pill . Some health officials recommend waiting till you have had one normal cycle before trying to conceive . This will make dating the pregnancy easier. It used to be the concern of health officials that getting pregnant soon after stopping the pill increases your risk for a miscarriage. However, there have been no evidence to support it. As a matter of fact, hormones in birth control pills don’t linger for a long time to be able to cause a miscarriage. If you plan to wait for a while, it is best to use a backup form of birth control such as condom until your period  is  normal.

Will birth control affect my pregnancy ?

There has been no evidence that birth control has any effect on pregnancy or causes any birth defects. If you are on the pill and realize you are pregnant, stop taking the pill right away.