When to give up contraception?

[msmiggins]

Is there a safe age to give up contraception?
I am 51, no signs of menopause, I am very fit and healthy-exercise very regulary, menstrual cycles regular and normal and still feel young. Late menopause runs in my family ( my Mum was 60)
I have never heard of anyone conceiving at my age but my OH feels differently. He is worried that I still may become pregnant.
Any views?

Natural conception at that age is vanishingly rare, but still possible ovaries having final fling!)

According to NHS; over 50, it's safe to abandon other contraception after one year of amenhorrhea (under 50, it's 2 years).

But what if no amenhorrhea ? Am I still fertile? I am as regular as clockwork with no peri- menopausal symptoms. OH won't come near me unless he is cloaked up.

If you are still menstruating, then you need to continue with other contraception or accept the risk of pregnancy.

I appreciate your advice. Thanks.

As above!

You need to use contraception for at least 12 months after your last period if that happens when you are over 50, and for 2 years if your last period is when you are under 50.

I think the oldest recorded ( and that doesn't mean it's accurate) totally natural birth ( no egg donation) was to a woman aged 57.

You could ask for a blood test called FSH, the level would indicate whether you're still likely to be fertile or not.

An FSH score during menopause or peri is not accurate. Your hormones fluctuate so much that they can be high one day and low/normal the next. I know this from personal experience- one test showed i was post meno then I went on to have regular periods for 18 months. And I doubt any NHS surgery would offer a test for reasons of contraception. Money's tight.

I have tried charting to see if I am ovulating. You could try that.

I have done it since March and I have no idea :( in spite of reading about it during peri - I do not seem to follow any of the accepted patterns.

Wow, lucky you! 51 and no signs of menopause at all. I'm only 38 and perimenopausal already and infertile. It's highly unlikely that at 51 you would still be fertile, despite having regular periods. Most women after the age of 45 would struggle to get pregnant so i think you are safe. I agree with one of the other posters about getting your FSH level checked. It's a blood test which is done on day 3 of your period, can be done at your doctor surgery. It tells you how hard your body is having to work to produce an egg for ovulation. An FSH of over 20 indicates low ovarian reserves (low egg supply) and menopause.

One added complication is that I have had only two or three periods a year until the age of 36 when i had my first child. I did have some gynae investigations in my 20s because of this, including a D&C- everything was physically normal, consultants told me it was a hormonal problem and to come back to themm if I ever wanted to become pregnant.
I concieved naturally four weeks after meeting my ( and still) partner. A huge surprise. Since having my two children my periods have functioned with extreme regularity, every 28 days almost to the hour.
Having gone so much of my adult live without menstruation ( and presumably not ovulation either)I am wondering if I still have a large egg supply left. Having a baby is not an option for me or my OH.

in my family there was a baby born to a 52 yo mum
so keep up with your contraceptives!

antimatter- I think you are right- my OHs instincs are probably correct. I have no menopausal symptoms either, libido and all my equipment is functioning as it always has. I have never heard of women in their 50s concieving and it would be nice to give up contraception, but OH would take a lot of convincing as his instinct tells him I am still fertile.

Natural conception over the age of about 48 is seriously rare.

But it can happen; and if it's going to, chances are it will occur in someone whose reproductive system appears to still be in full, regular working order.

I'm confused now.

Sorry, was it me that caused the confusion?

I meant that the chances of conception are much reduced, but not eliminated. In your 20s, a couple having unprotected intercourse have a chance of over 85% of starting a pg over a year (higher over 2 years): by 50 it's 1%. That means it can still happen.

Those stats are for all women, and so would include those whose periods have stopped or gone menopausally awry. Yours haven't. If you do not want a pg, then use contraception until your periods have stopped and been absent for a year.

If your DH wants an effective contraception, and you don't want him 'cloaking up' (using condoms, I take it?) then how about vasectomy? After all, even if your periods ceased now (which I suppose they could) or became irregular, you're still looking at minimum a year of contraceptive need, and without a regular cycle no means of predicting whether or when you might ovulate.

Nothing to be confused about :)

Periods still happening = still need contraception

No periods- if after age 50 use contraception for a year after the last one.

easy. As are your options-vasectomy/sterilistion maybe but actually mini pill, mirena or implant would all be god choices.

Conception rate post age 48 is low but why risk it?

Thanks ladies, I may go back to using the diaphragm- I used it years ago and loved it, I know it's not 100% but probably safe enough for me now.

Diaphragm sounds a good plan. It's a less effective method and you might have to track down a GP /clinic that can sort it out though as it's quite out of favour ( as it's pretty rubbish for very fertile women) but just keep asking round. There will be someone who can do it for you.

If you have not used your diaphram for years then you need it re-fitted.
You MUST go back to the drs or FPC for a new one and in any case the rubber has a shelf life.
I used to have one and had to have a re-fit every 6 months, and you may know that weight gain of 7lbs either way can affect the fit.

Re. your egg supply (!) I don't think it's as simple as having on-off periods when you were younger affecting the age of menopause. if that was the case, women who took the Pill for 10 years or more would be delaying their menopause by that number of years. And that is clearly not the case.

We are all born with millions of eggs but we don't use them all or have millions of periods- the potential for eggs to mature and be released is down to lots of other factors including the pituitary gland and hormones.

Giving birth over 50 is rare but not unheard of- it just doesn't make the headlines- but there are quite a few births to women in their early 50s- so watch out!

Oh no I didn't mean the same diaphram- I don't even have it anymore- I meant the same method. I know they need replacing frequently.

that's ok then :)

It's rare but it does happen - I've had a couple of patients thought their periods had stopped because of the menopause but they were pregnant. I think one was 52, the other 51.

With a family history of late menopause I wouldn't risk it and would use contraception if a pregnancy would be a disaster.

Or the non-hormonal copper coil, very effective contraceptive.

One of the problems of getting pregnant later on is it is more likely to end in miscarriage and other complications, which is probably not good when your hormones are up the creek anyway.

I am using condoms at 50, having been taken off the pill. I am not sure they are good enough - they would have been a gamble in my more fertile years, but other things have proved unsuitable since.