Stopping contraception

So, you’ve made the decision to try to get pregnant and are probably feeling quite excited and a bit nervous about what lies ahead.

What method of contraception do you use?

You might be keen to get on with it but it is important that you consider the method of contraception you’ve been using up to now, and how best to stop taking it.

Find your method from the list below, you might also want to talk to your family planning clinic or doctor to find out what’s best for you.

The Pill (combined oral contraceptive)

• Finish the packet you are on.
• Many doctors advise that you should delay trying to conceive until you have had one normal period, not the withdrawal bleed, so that a pregnancy can be dated more accurately.
• Use other forms of contraception such as condoms until after your first normal period.
• Don’t worry if you do become pregnant sooner as this will not harm your baby.

Progesterone pill

• You can stop taking this at any time.
• You do not need to finish the packet you are on.
• Many doctors advise that you should wait for one period before trying to conceive.
• Don’t worry if you do become pregnant sooner as this will not harm your baby.

Contraceptive injections (such as Depo-provera)

• Do not renew your injections.
• Your periods and normal fertility will often take longer to return than it does with other contraception, but it is possible to become pregnant before your first period.
• Many doctors advise that you should wait for one period before trying to conceive.
• Don’t worry if you do become pregnant sooner as this will not harm your baby.

Progesterone implants (such as Implanon)

• This is usually a long-term contraception but can be reversed.
• Make an appointment with your doctor to have the implant removed. This is a quick procedure done with a local anaesthetic. Fertility levels usually return quite quickly.
• Many doctors advise that you should wait for one period before trying to conceive.
• Don’t worry if you do become pregnant sooner as this will not harm your baby.

Intrauterine device (IUD – sometimes known as ‘the coil’) or Intrauterine system (IUS –which contains the hormone progestogen)

• Make an appointment with your doctor or family planning clinic to have it removed.
• You might be advised to wait until your next period before starting to conceive.
• Fertility levels should not be affected with the copper-containing IUD.
• Fertility may take longer to return with the hormonal IUS.

Condoms (male and female)

• Stop using them when you are ready to try for a baby. These don’t affect your fertility levels.

Diaphragms and caps

• Stop using them when you are ready to try for a baby. These don’t affect your fertility levels.

Natural family planning

• This method does not affect your fertility levels and your fertility awareness knowledge should help you to maximise your chances of conception.
• Aim now to have sex during the times when you were previously abstaining (or using a barrier method) when you didn’t want to become pregnant.

Withdrawal

• This method does not affect your fertility levels. While, in theory, you could have become pregnant using withdrawal method alone, increase your chances now by not withdrawing.

Spermicide

• This method does not affect your fertility levels. Stop using spermicide, although consider in future that this method alone may not prevent an unwanted pregnancy.
  

Learning about your natural cycle

As no two women’s cycles are the same, it’s a good idea to invest a little time in getting to know your body better and taking steps to improve your chances of conception.

If you have been using a hormone contraceptive you won’t have had a natural menstrual cycle for a while. You may not have even considered when you might ovulate within your cycle before now.

As a first step starting marking on your diary the dates that you bleed during a period.  You can then count how many days from the first day of your period to your next period. 

How the menstrual cycle works

• Your cycle starts on the first day of your period.
• At the same time, eggs begin to mature in the ovary.
• The lining of the womb starts to thicken in readiness for fertilisation.
• Your cervical mucus becomes thinner and clearer to help the sperm to reach the released egg.
• About 10 to 16 days before the start of your next period, an egg is released from one of the ovaries (ovulation).
• If sperm is present at the moment of ovulation or sometime during the next 24 hours, the egg may be fertilised.
• If the egg has not been fertilised, the egg is re-absorbed by the body, the hormone levels drop, the menstrual cycle ends and the next cycle begins (at the start of the next period).

How to tell when you are ovulating

• Ovulation usually occurs about 10 to 16 days before the start of your next period. This is why it helps to know your cycle length before you start trying to conceive.
• Cervical fluid that is usually quite sticky and white becomes thin and clearer just before and around the time of ovulation.
• Your temperature increases very slightly at the time of ovulation.
• Ovulation predictor kits are a bit like pregnancy test kits in that you wee on the stick every day and, depending on the level of hormone present in your wee, they give you a result that shows whether you might be ovulating or not.
• You might notice ‘ovulation pain’, mild pre-menstrual symptoms such as breast tenderness or cramps in your lower abdomen.