What Happens If I Stop Taking Birth Control?
Birth control (contraception) is any method, medicine, or device used to prevent pregnancy. Women can choose from many different types of birth control. Some work better than others at preventing pregnancy. The type of birth control you use depends on your health, your desire to have children now or in the future, and your need to prevent sexually transmitted infections. Your doctor can help you decide which type is best for you right now.
Birth control pills are a kind of medicine with hormones. Birth control pills come in a pack, and you take 1 pill every day. The pill is safe, affordable, and effective if you always take your pill on time. Besides preventing pregnancy, the pill has lots of other health benefits, too.
Hormonal birth control methods, such as the pill, are safe for most women. Today’s birth control pills have lower doses of hormones than in the past. This has lowered the risk of side effects and serious health problems.
How Do Birth Control Pills Work?
You become pregnant when an egg released from your ovary (the organ that holds eggs) is fertilized by sperm. The fertilized egg attaches to the inside of your womb (uterus), where it develops into a baby. Hormones in your body control the release of the egg from the ovary — called ovulation — and prepare your body to accept the fertilized egg.
Hormonal contraceptives (the pill, the patch, and the vaginal ring) all contain a small amount of human-made estrogen and progestin hormones. These hormones inhibit your body’s natural hormones to prevent pregnancy in a few ways. The hormonal contraceptive usually stops the body from ovulating. They also change the cervical mucus to make it difficult for the sperm to go through the cervix and find an egg. They can also prevent pregnancy by changing the lining of the womb so it’s unlikely the fertilized egg will be implanted.
How do I use birth control pills?
Combination pills come in a variety of formats. These include monthly packs, which follow either 21-day, 24-day, or 28-day cycles. Extended regimens can follow 91-day cycles. For all of these formats, you take one pill each day at the same time of day. Progestin-only pills, on the other hand, only come in packs of 28. As with combination pills, you take one pill at the same time every day.
What do I do if I miss a day taking the pill?
Follow the instructions that came with your birth control about using back-up birth control (such as a condom and spermicide). You also can follow these recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
If you are late or miss a day taking your pill:
- Take the late or missed pill as soon as possible.
- Continue taking the rest of your pills at your normal time, even if it means taking two pills on the same day.
- You do not need other forms of birth control, such as a condom, unless you need to protect against STIs.
If you miss two or more days in a row:
- Take only the most recent missed pill as soon as possible.
- Continue taking the rest of your pills at your normal time, even if it means taking two pills on the same day.
- Use back-up birth control, such as a condom and spermicide, or do not have sex until you have taken a pill for seven days in a row.
- If you missed pills during days in the last week of active pills (days 15–21 for 28-day pill packs), start a new pack the next day. If you are not able to start a new pack right away, use back-up birth control or avoid sex until hormone pills from a new pack have been taken for 7 days in a row.
- Consider emergency contraception if you missed pills during the first week and had sex.
Talk to your doctor if you continue to miss taking your birth control pill or find it hard to take the pill at the same time each day. You may want to consider a different type of birth control, such as an IUD, an implant, shot, ring, or patch that you don’t have to remember to take every day.
What Happens If I Stop Taking Birth Control?
According to Cleveland Clinic, there are six things that can happen when you stop taking the birth control pill, they include;
Pregnancy: Many women don’t realize how quickly their bodies can start ovulating again after going off BC. Once you stop taking the pill, the hormones will be out of your body in a matter of days and you’re no longer protected from pregnancy.
Period Delays to return: It could take a while to get your natural period back. Some women go right back to having a regular cycle after ditching the pill, while other women might not get their period again for three months.
PMS symptoms might reappear: Many women go on birth control to help with premenstrual symptoms like cramps, bloating and nausea. So when you stop taking the birth control pill, the unwanted side effects of your period will probably return. Birth control helps regulate cycles and control hormonal symptoms, so don’t be surprised if you feel like your breast are more tender right before your period or if you feel more irritable or moody.
Longer periods: If you’ve been on the pill for a while then you’re probably used to shorter and lighter periods. But after going off the pill, you might notice that your period is heavier, longer in duration and the interval has changed. This is all normal.
You might not lose weight: Weight gain is actually not a consistent side effect of the pill. Everyone is different, but research has found that being on the pill usually doesn’t cause more than a pound of weight a year. Sure there might be some women who retain more fluid and water weight, but if you’ve gained weight while on the pill and haven’t changed much about your life style, you probably won’t see any significant weight loss once you come off it.
High Sex drive: Some women complain about a low sex drive while taking the pill. You could see a spike in your libido once you stop taking birth control. The pill can cause vaginal dryness, so when you stop taking the birth control pill, the change in discharge and natural lubrication can increase libido in some women.
How effective are birth control pills?
If taken correctly, birth control pills are very effective in preventing pregnancy. According to the CDC, both the combination pill and the progestin-only pill have 9 percent failure rates with typical use. That means out of 100 women using the pill, 9 would get pregnant.
To be fully effective, progestin pills must be taken within the same three-hour time period every day.
There is slightly more flexibility with combination pills. In general, you should try to take combination pills at the same time each day, but you can take them within the same daily 12-hour window and still have pregnancy protection. ALSO READ: How to Spot Fake Birth Control Pills
