Episode 35: How birth control affects future menstrual cycles / future fertility

Are you thinking about going off birth control? Maybe you’re like me and you didn’t have side effects with birth control, but you want to go off it to start trying to get pregnant. Or maybe you’re like many of the women I see as a pharmacist and natural family planning educator who have experienced physical and mental side effects of birth control and want to use natural family planning to avoid pregnancy.

It wasn’t until after I was diagnosed with secondary infertility, went through struggling trying to get pregnant with my second child after coming off birth control, that my doctor mentioned it could be that birth control affected my cycles. Although it is documented in multiple research studies, the medication information that comes with birth control doesn’t warn about the ways these medications can affect future cycles, and thus future fertility.

On this week’s episode of Wholly a Woman, Dr. Emily reviews two research studies looking at characteristics of the menstrual cycle after taking oral contraceptives. In general, birth control can affect cervical mucus quality, identified days of ovulation, and cycle length for up to 9 months after stopping the birth control.

Also know that stopping birth control can cause physical effects. Your body gets used to the synthetic hormones and these hormones not only affect fertility, but also acne, headaches, mental health, and gut health. If you started taking birth control because you were having issues with your periods/cycles, you may notice this issue return or even worsen.

You DESERVE to be wholly the woman God made you to be. I help women ReNU their bodies by Recognizing
your body’s natural signs of fertility, Noting (tracking) those signs, and then Using that information for your goals. Are you having issues related to your periods or hormones and/or do you have questions about any medications you take? I help women get a ReDU and ReSeT by getting to the root cause of your symptoms and then working with you to get your hormones and cycles back on track by supporting your body naturally. And as a pharmacist, I am happy to review ALL medications/vitamins/supplements and make recommendations to stop, change, or start something. Are you ready to ReNU, ReDU, or ReSeT yourself? Book an appointment with me, Dr. Emily, the natural family planning pharmacist, today by going to www.nfppharmacist.com and clicking “Schedule an Appointment”

My next FREE “Know Your Body with Natural Family Planning” workshop is Tues 11/24/20 at 7:30pm central time. Sign up at workshop.nfppharmacist.com/1124. See you then!

Want to connect further? Please reach out!
Email me: emily@nfppharmacist.com
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Or find resources and events on my website: www.nfppharmacist.com