Stopping taking the Pill for 3 months prior to ttc? Why??

[Mirage]

Hi,

I wondered if anyone can shed any light on why it is reccomended that you should stop taking the Pill for 3 months before TTC?

I imagine it is to give the hormones a chance to get out of your system.But as each Pill is only effective for 24 hours,before you have to take the next one,that reason doesn't seem to make any sense.

Did anyone here concieve immediately after stopping the Pill,or after missing one?

Due to my previous history of infertility/ectopics,I don't want to leave it too long before trying for a brother or sister for DD,so wanted to avoid the 3 month wait if possible.

Thanks.

The advice seems to vary between GPs - my friends have been told to ttc as soon as they're off the pill as it may improve their chances...

No reason re safely. It makes it easier for them to date the conception of you have a well established regular cycle as far as I can remember.

My dr. told me a long time ago that it would be ok to concieve as soon as I stopped the pill, but I didn't listen cause we didn't want children. However, I forgot to take a few of them and ended up pregnant. I had still been taking pills for close to a month because I didn't think after almost 6 years on the pill that I would be pregnant, and the baby was just fine.

My understanding is the same as hmb's. A friend of mine conceived (they thought) immediately after stopping taking the pill, but a scan put them back a month. It was impossible to date the birth by LMP, as she had not had a period.

Thanks for the advice.I didn't think about ease of dating the conception.If I am lucky enough to get pregnant,I'll have to have an early scan anyway,so dates shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Whoo hoo!!!!!!!! Pills in the bin then-pass me the Folic acid tablets.

Ah, but Mirage, you are meant to take Folic Acid for 6 months before trying to conceive! Sorry for p*ssing on your fireworks!

Mirage - I stopped taking the pill and started taking Folic Acid the same day. I conceived that cycle - I didn't even have a period! Now have a very healthy 15th month old.

i have the pill injection, and did so before having my son, my doctor to;d me if u have 4 injections, its takes aprox 1 year for fertility to return, i caught 4 weeks after my injection expired

Not implying that you won't have a healthy child Mirage BTW, just a minor joke!

The main reason why is because it is easier to date the pregnancy, but because of the sophisticated dating scans this advice is no longer relevant.

The other reason to stop the pill for a few months prior TTC is because women taking the pill tend to be slightly deficient in Zinc and Magnesium and it is believed that you need a chance to let the levels get back to normal. However if you already take a multivitamin/mineral supplement you may not want to wait the 3 months. I conceived the same month I finished taking my pills and haven't had any problems, I just started taking a supplement before i finished the pills. It is true you may have a better chance of conceiving if you start TTC immediately finishing the pills, especially if you have had irregular cycles in the past.

I think it can also be done to the hormones in your body from the pill. 3 months gives it a chance to get out of your system and your body to start working 'properly'. I found that it took me a long time to concieve after coming off the pill - don't know if it was because of the pill or just one of those things though.

I know so many people who conceived even when they were taking the pill faithfully & properly.