Do birth control pills cause infertility in the future?

The new medical advances of effective birth control have transformed and allowed women to take control of their destinies and given the women the liberty to enjoy personal freedom and postpone their pregnancy which was not possible for the previous generations. Most couples want to have a baby only when they are strong and stable financially and mentally prepared to give their baby a better future. Though women choose to postpone pregnancy with pills, there is always a concern whether these birth control pills are safe or cause infertility in the future. Birth control pills are designed to cause infertility, but the elective and temporary protection is not called infertility. As women want to be sure that these pills can prevent pregnancy, they also would like to have the reassurance that when they try for pregnancy, their previous contraception will not be a backlash, the question is.

The good news is that they do not, but some types of birth control pills may cause a slight fertility delay. Here we try to understand how the birth control pills act and how they prevent pregnancy The different birth control methods There are two main methods of birth control in females, the effects of which differ according to the age, fertility level, and overall health of the woman Hormonal methods- These prevent pregnancy by addition of hormones that regulate the ovulation

1. Birth control pills

2. Intrauterine device (IUD)

3. Vaginal ring and contraceptive patch

1. Tubectomy

2. Fertility awareness and natural techniques of birth control

3. Copper IUD

4. Spermicide

5. Barrier methods like diaphragms, condoms, cervical caps, etc. It is a well-known fact that the moment the barrier methods are stopped using can get one pregnant. Still, whether the long-term use of hormonal contraceptives like pills, injections, or implants affects future pregnancy. Some methods risk waiting a few months until the fertility returns to square one.

The combination pills: They contain progesterone and estrogen, which works by preventing ovulation and thickening of the mucus at the neck of the womb and thinning the lining, thus avoiding ovulation and preventing implantation, which is 99% effective in controlling birth, the cycles return to normal once it is stopped taking, but rarely it may take longer to normalcy.

Three months of delay is considered normal.

Mini pill: This also has a similar effect by thinning the lining and preventing ovulation, once the pill is stopped the cycles re-establish and the lining becomes thicker rarely in some women the wait may be slightly longer.

Hormonal or copper IUD: IUD has a mechanical effect of preventing implantation whereas IUD with hormones has a combined effect of thickening the cervical mucus and thinning the uterine lining because of the release of progesterone. The menstrual cycle is re-established once the IUD is removed.

Vaginal ring or a contraceptive patch: Both of these are novel hormonal contraceptives with less evidence on the long-term impact, its action is similar to the pills and is suggestive of similar safety.

Contraceptive injection: The injection is taken once in three months is helpful for women who don’t want to be bothered about taking the pill every day. The only fear with this contraceptive is it may take a year for the cycles to re-establish so a less popular one among women who would like to become pregnant in the future. A study, on oral contraceptives, shows that – 21% got pregnant after one cycle after stopping birth control and – 79% got pregnant within a year and that rates of pregnancy were lower in women over the age of 35. This shows that birth control does not affect fertility.

Twelve months is the standard time frame for couples trying to have a baby, and six months if the woman is 35 and above. The body may take time to re-establish itself; therefore, it is essential to give time for normalcy to return. If there is any delay, get a reproductive assessment to find out the potential cause of infertility as it may not be the problem of female infertility. The cause of infertility may be in the male partner too. Most of the research has cleared that birth control does not cause any infertility; however, there are some misconceptions that birth control pills cause infertility. All these are just myths, but the fact is that these pills do not become the cause of infertility in women but can be a reason for the delay in restarting ovulation after discontinuing them. The hormones taken to cover ovulatory issues may cause some alterations in the body and cause an increase in body weight and stress which may lead to an imbalance in the menstrual cycle. Some other factors can affect women’s fertility adversely, which are not related to the birth control pills, like when the couple plan to postpone their pregnancy, then the age of women is around 20 to 30. They plan to have a baby during the later years, but women’s age can be more than 30. Therefore, the increased age of women can also be the factor that can cause infertility and affect the quality and quantity of eggs in women.

If one is using some birth control methods, then one must understand that the working of different ways is different, and these methods can give one relaxation of some time to stop pregnancies but cannot stop you from getting pregnant in later years. Postponing babies with various birth control pills can affect your overall health, and there can be chances of some side effects in the long term. Although, these methods cannot make you infertile. GarbhaGudi is a chain of next-generation infertility treatment centres in Bangalore equipped with state-of-the-art infrastructure, doctors, staff, and embryologists trained in infertility treatments to take care of the ever-increasing challenges of infertility. We’ve helped thousands of couples conceive and cherish the bliss of parenthood to date.