Today, hormonal contraceptives pills are quite popular means to prevent unwanted pregnancy. With proper selection, these pills do not cause addiction or side effects, guarantee a high percentage of contraception and allow you to freely have sex on any day of the cycle without worrying about additional protection and the likelihood of getting pregnant.
However, fertility specialists are not always recommended by oral contraceptives (OK) to prevent pregnancy – sometimes a hormonal course, on the contrary, helps to conceive a child as quickly as possible. How do modern pharmaceuticals act, what effect do they have on the female body and how will they later affect the reproductive function? Answers to popular questions about the features of the course of pregnancy after taking the OK look in our article!
How do hormonal contraceptives pills on the female body? Subtleties of oral contraception
On the shelves of modern pharmacies, you can find dozens of varieties of birth control pills, which differ in active and auxiliary substances, their concentration and form. Such a rich assortment allows gynecologists to choose the best tool for each patient, taking into account the individual characteristics of the body, clinical history, and other nuances. However, in most cases, each hormonal substance will have approximately the same effect, allowing you to guarantee a high percentage of protection against unwanted pregnancy:
- suppression of ovulatory mechanisms, as a result of which the work of the ovaries is inhibited, the egg does not mature and, as a result, the onset of pregnancy becomes impossible;
- thickening of cervical mucus in the cervix, through which sperm is much more difficult to move;
- changes in the structure of the uterus mucosa, which is why the egg after fertilization cannot be fixed in it;
- reduced sperm motility in the fallopian tubes.
Even despite the low percentage of hormones in modern contraceptives, they have a significant effect on the reproductive system of women, which should be considered when a pregnancy occurs, both desirable and not very. In no case should you pick yourself OK “by eye” or on the advice of a friend? Hormonal contraceptives can be recommended only by the attending physician familiar with your history and history of the disease – this will help reduce the likelihood of side effects for both the patient and her child.
Planning for pregnancy after OK: how to increase the likelihood of success?
Taking into account the peculiarities of the impact of OA on the reproductive function of women, many reproductive experts agree that a short course of hormone therapy does not inhibit, but, on the contrary, stimulates the activity of the ovaries, increasing the probability of pregnancy at the end of the cycle. Such a feature in gynecology was called a rebound effect, that is, a cancellation effect. According to this, a small (usually from 3 months to half a year) rest of the ovaries from everyday work triggers a chain reaction, therefore, after canceling the hormonal course, the reproductive system begins to “work” with double strength, at times increasing the probability of a successful conception.
A reload effect is considered possible only under the following conditions:
- hormonal contraceptives were selected by the attending physician taking into account all the physiological features of a particular patient;
- during the reception there were no marked side effects;
- the course of oral contraception did not exceed six months;
- the woman is completely healthy from a gynecological point of view, and problems with conception do not have a serious clinical pathology;
- Reception OK, including the completion of the course, were carried out in compliance with all recommendations on hormonal contraception.
And even if all the above conditions are met, no specialist will give a 100% guarantee of pregnancy after canceling OK – everything depends on the individual response of the body of the expectant mother and the characteristics of her menstrual cycle.
Useful recommendations
To increase the chances of success, it is necessary to approach the planning of pregnancy properly while still taking hormonal contraceptives. For this you need:
- Do your own health. While the body is resting, you have time to plan all tests and, if necessary, to treat for hidden infections and other problems affecting reproductive function. The standard course includes an examination by a gynecologist, ultrasound of the pelvic organs and a smear to determine the microflora of the vagina, but the attending physician may expand this list depending on the patient’s history. Spend this period with benefit – so the probability of a successful pregnancy will be several times higher.
- Follow the recommendations for receiving OK. Each pill should be taken at about the same time for 21 days, after which there will be a week-long break. Do not interrupt the cycle and do not change the time of taking the drug – this can adversely affect not only the quality of contraception but also the subsequent conception.
- Take vitamins for future mothers. The hormonal course “washes out” vitamins from the body, especially folic acid, which is necessary for the formation of the fetal neural tube. Therefore, it is necessary to start a course in advance of multivitamins or at least folic acid – such forethought will further avoid a shortage of beneficial substances. In addition, the expectant mother will need magnesium, iodine, selenium, vitamins B, C, and E.
Following these rules, you will significantly increase the likelihood of a healthy and fulfilling pregnancy after taking hormonal contraceptives.
How is pregnancy going after hormonal contraception?
According to the available medical statistics, the timely cancellation of oral contraceptives in no way affects the course of pregnancy, which occurred immediately after the end of the course. The remains of hormonal substances are safely removed from the body of a woman, without affecting the processes of the formation of the fetus, even if the contraception was long. However, such a successful outcome is possible only if the conception occurred immediately after the cancellation of the OK.
Can I get pregnant while taking contraceptives?
Modern oral contraceptives are not only safe but also extremely effective – with proper selection of pharmaceuticals and compliance with the rules of admission, the percentage of protection against unwanted pregnancy reaches 99%. And yet, always remains the notorious 1%, which does not exclude the possibility of conception. However, such an error is negligible compared with the number of pregnancy cases that occurred against the background of the errors of the patients themselves taking hormonal pills. Thus, the most common causes of pregnancy during a course of hormone therapy include:
- Error in the choice of means. The only one who can prescribe the correct and effective contraceptives is the patient’s doctor. No advice from girlfriends or “experienced” interlocutors of the forum can be objective and useful – what is ideally suited to one can be completely ineffective for the other. In addition, the state of health and physiological characteristics of the body should be taken into account – this will avoid side effects and provide the necessary degree of protection.
- Wrong reception. This is perhaps the most popular cause of pregnancy while taking contraceptives. Only 1 missed the pill, a downed regimen, or an extended interval between contraceptive pills – and the level of hormones in the blood can no longer protect against unplanned conception.
- Digestive problems. Stool disorder or vomiting reduces the absorption of drug hormones, so the amount of substance entering the bloodstream is also reduced. As a result, the effect of the course can be significantly aggravated, especially if you take contraceptives 1-2 hours before vomiting.
- Incompatibility with other medicines. Joint reception with some antibiotics, dietary supplements, and herbal preparations can level the contraceptive effect of hormonal pills, so before starting any course you should first consult your gynecologist.
If during pregnancy hormonal contraceptives did occur, do not panic – modern contraceptives do not have almost any negative effect on the formation of the fetus. However, the course should be completed as soon as you learn about its inefficiency, and also inform your gynecologist and fertility specialist about this – they will tell you what examinations you need to take in order to eliminate minimal risks.
Possible problems after the cancellation of oral contraceptives
Unfortunately, not everything is as rosy as it may seem at first glance: in some cases, hormonal pills not only do not increase but vice versa, reduce the chances of a safe pregnancy. As a rule, this happens when the following factors exist:
- long-term administration of oral contraceptives (more than a year) or violation of actual recommendations: incomplete completion of the course, reception at different times, selection of active components without taking into account physiological features;
- the presence of gynecological diseases not related to the level of hormones;
- the appearance of side effects on the background of hormone therapy (varicose veins, angina, hypertension, etc.);
- the presence of bad habits (smoking, alcohol abuse), against which oral contraception is more difficult to tolerate.
Remember that any contraceptive is first and foremost a hormonal drug that completely rearranges the work of the reproductive system, therefore completely excluding situations in which such a restructuring will not benefit future pregnancy is simply unrealistic.
One of the possible complications is ovarian dysfunction, in which they can not recover on their own – this will require long-term treatment with other hormones and in a completely different dosage. In addition, in women who take OK for a long time, after the cancellation, the menstrual cycle and carbohydrate-fat metabolism are often disturbed, which further aggravates existing problems with conception. That is why you should first discuss with your doctor the features of your own body, its readiness to conceive and bear a child, and only then start planning a pregnancy after hormonal pills!
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