When you are trying to get pregnant, it seems like every sentence could begin with "The best time to . . ." There are recommendations for when to have a baby, tips for ideal days to get hot and heavy, and even a window of time to wait and take a pregnancy test. But before you smash all of your clocks and burn your calendars, there is one more thing to consider if you are TTC: How do I get pregnant after birth control?
"Most birth control is out of your system within 48 hours after you stop it," Dr. Allison Hill, a board-certified OB-GYN and author of Your Pregnancy, Your Way, tells Romper. "Therefore, I recommend to only stop your birth control when you are really ready to get pregnant." One exception, Hill warns, is Depo-Provera injections "which can stay effective in your system up to one year after your last shot." But if that's not the case, she suggests that you "finish the pack of birth control pills, have a period, and then you can start trying."
Dr. Jaime Knopman, co-founder of TrulyMD, and director at New York's Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine, tells Romper that one example of women who may want to stop the pill a bit earlier are women with a history of irregular menstrual cycles. "Stopping the pill a bit earlier will give you time to become acquainted with you menstrual cycle and see if it is still irregular," she says. "If it is, then you might need fertility assistance."
Knopman and Hill both agree that when a woman is ready to stop using birth control, she should start taking a daily prenatal vitamin.
"Basically, stop the pill and replace it with a vitamin," Knopman says. "If you are already in the habit of taking something, then take advantage of this behavior and start taking a vitamin."
That means I could technically end this convo by saying, "The best time to start taking a prenatal vitamin is . . ." but I really want to keep being friends.
