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Last Updated:
Jan 3rd, 2010 - 00:09:53
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Question
I have been on oral contraceptive for over ten years and have recently stopped - about three months now. I plan to become pregnant but am hesitant because I don't know if there are any complications since being on the pill for so long. I have noticed my period is not a heavy flow as before. What are my chances of having a healthy pregnancy? I'm 33 years old.
Kathy
Answer
Dear Kathy,
Congratulations on stopping oral contraceptives! They're bad for your health, bad for your sexual relationship and bad for the environment(Minute amounts have been detected in drinking water). Having said that, and recognizing that fertility declines with advancing years anyway, you haven't chucked the oral conceptive one minute too soon. If you drink alcohol, stop that immediately, too, since alcohol can have deleterious effects on an unborn baby at any time before birth, from day one of conception to the last day in the womb - and afterwards, in your breast milk. In fact, alcohol is the No. 1 cause of birth defects.
That said, go for the baby, and don't look back. That you are having a flow now means that your own hormones are kicking in as your fertility rebounds from a ten-year manipulation by artificial hormones. It can take several months before your cycles do that so we recommend that you delay a pregnancy until the effects of the pill are gone. Contact a certified instructor of natural family planning to learn to identify these healthy signs and impending ovulation, and go from there. You should do just fine.
A list of NFP teachers can be found on this web site.
Carole Roadarmel
Carole Roadarmel has been a certified NFP teacher of the Billings Ovulation Method in Santa Maria, California, since 1987.
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