Contraception methods are varied and widely used, but if the time has come for the couple to consider having a baby, What would be the ideal time to stop using contraceptives?
Well, the answer will depend on the contraceptive method being used. For many of them, the "barrier" and natural, there is no term, since they do not prevent pregnancy once they are stopped being used.
However, the greatest concern of women comes from the other hormonal methods, which do need some regulation of the female organism and its ovulation cycle, since they act on it, inhibiting it. Let's see, case by case, when it is recommended to abandon contraceptive methods to get pregnant.
- The male or female condom, known condoms, can be discontinued immediately, as they do not affect the mechanism of ovulation or ejaculation. They are a barrier mechanism and the first time they stop being used, conception can occur.
- The diaphragm is a flexible metal ring with a latex membrane, which is inserted into the vagina and prevents sperm from entering the uterus. A smaller variety of this is the cervical cap. These are barrier mechanisms like the previous ones, so you can stop using them at the same time you want to conceive.
- With natural family planning, they can also start trying to get pregnant as soon as they stop using the method. Here are some tips based on the baseline temperature chart.
- With the pill Some time may be required for your cycles to be normalized after you stop using the contraceptive method. This oral contraceptive is a pill that contains hormones that prevent the ovaries from releasing an egg every month. Therefore, it is advisable to stop taking the pill a couple of months before starting to try to get pregnant, although there are also places where it is indicated that it takes three months or more to fully recover fertility.
- The same happens with contraceptive injections, which inject the progestin hormone that inhibits ovulation and changes the cervical mucosa: it is advisable to leave them at least two months before, although in some places it is assured that if the woman wishes to become pregnant, it will cost between two and 18 months, depending on the brand of the contraceptive, so that your ovulation is restored.
- IUDs or intrauterine devices are of two main types: those that are inert based on copper and those based on hormones that work by the release of progestogens. To remove traces of these spermicidal and ovicidal components, it would also be advisable to stop using them a couple of months before the search for pregnancy.
- Regarding the vaginal ring, although it is a hormonal method the doses are lower and we read that once the method is abandoned, the woman immediately becomes fertile again. But in the case of hormones, it may also be appropriate to advance the abandonment of the method before attempting pregnancy.
- We remember that vasectomy and tubal ligation They are permanent contraceptives that have to be thoroughly planned and medically advised since they can only be undone after surgery and which, in the case of women, does not ensure fertility recovery.
In cases of hormonal methods in which it is recommended to abandon the contraceptive method a two or three months before seeking pregnancy, barrier contraceptives will have to be used if we do not want fertilization to go ahead of our forecasts, a possibility that still exists.
In any case, planning a pregnancy requires certain precautions and advice, so we will have time to stop using contraceptives, either at the same time or a few months before along with the rest of healthy preparation for conception to occur.
