Q & A: Pregnant after the pill

Q: My doctor says I can try and get pregnant right away after stopping the pill. What’s your opinion?

A. Technically yes, you can try to get pregnant as soon as you stop taking contraceptives. Although it is possible and many women do get pregnant right away, it is a good idea to give your body a chance to detoxify the synthetic hormones you’ve been taking. Because contraceptives are synthetic hormones, they are not detoxified and eliminated from the body as quickly or efficiently as your own hormones- in essence they hang around longer and can negatively affect your reproductive health. If you get pregnant right away your baby will be exposed to these higher levels of hormones and the verdict is out as to how these affect your baby’s own hormonal and metabolic development- especially for male fetuses. It’s also a good idea to give your body some time to rebalance and normalize it’s own hormonal output so that you know you have a healthy base to start with. If you are experiencing PMS symptoms, an irregular period, heavy period, or clots these are signs you should work on hormonal rebalancing before getting pregnant. At least 3 months time is a good time frame between stopping the pill and trying to get pregnant.

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