Planning a baby after the pill (or another contraceptive)

Planning a baby after the pill (or another contraceptive)

You're stopping, or have just stopped, your contraception because you'd like to have a baby. This is often when the questions start piling up: how long before your body gets back into its rhythm? Should you wait before trying? And what if your period is slow to come back? Here are some key points drawn from research and official sources. They're averages, not a schedule to stick to: every body has its own.

What happens when you stop

Hormonal contraception acts on your cycle for as long as you use it. When you stop, your body gradually restarts its own rhythm. The research is reassuring: a meta-analysis of 22 studies concluded that using contraception, whatever the type and however long for, had no negative effect on the ability to get pregnant afterwards. Having taken the pill for years doesn't change how fertility returns.

How long each method takes

Fertility comes back more or less quickly depending on the method. A large study published in the BMJ in 2020, pooling data from around 18,000 women, estimated the average delay before fertility returned:

• hormonal IUD, copper IUD and implant: about 2 cycles
• pill and ring: about 3 cycles
• patch: about 4 cycles
• injection: 5 to 8 cycles

Here too, how long the method had been used made no difference. A few details from official sources:

• Pill: according to the NHS, fertility usually returns to previous levels about a month after stopping.
• Implant: also according to the NHS, your fertility goes back to what it was straight away once it's removed.
• Injection: this is the slowest method to wear off. According to the official US prescribing information, among women who conceived after stopping, the median time to conception was 10 months after the last injection, ranging from 4 to 31 months.

These figures describe groups of women. They don't tell you what will happen for you, and they're not promises.

Should you wait before trying?

The official sources consulted do not ask you to wait before trying. The NHS states that after stopping the pill, fertility usually returns to its previous level in about a month. And if you're not sure of the date of your last period, that's not a problem for your care: the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) notes that the due date is set from the date of the last period, a first reliable ultrasound scan, or both.

What's really worth starting right away:

• folic acid (vitamin B9): France's national health authority (HAS) recommends 400 micrograms a day from the moment you plan a pregnancy, until 12 weeks of pregnancy;
• a preconception appointment with your doctor, gynaecologist or midwife, to review your vaccinations, tests and current medication.

Two Lovae articles go into these in more detail.

Your first periods

Your first real period may take a little while. In a study of 198 women stopping a pill taken continuously for a year, periods returned after a median of 32 days, and 98.9% had had a period or were pregnant within 90 days. How long they'd gone without bleeding during treatment didn't change this.

If your period doesn't come back, two things to know:

• if you're having sex without contraception, a pregnancy test will clear up any doubt;
• what used to be called "post-pill amenorrhoea" isn't an explanation in itself: a reference paper points out that a lack of periods after the pill should lead to looking for a cause, rather than simply being blamed on the pill.

When to see someone

• Your period hasn't returned 3 months after stopping: France's national health insurance (Assurance Maladie) advises seeing a doctor when periods stop for more than 3 months.
• You've been trying for 12 months without getting pregnant, or for 6 months if you're over 35.
• Sooner, without waiting for those milestones, if your cycles are irregular or absent, or if you have endometriosis or PMOS: the Assurance Maladie lists these among the situations where it's better to seek advice earlier.
• And at any time if something worries you: that's always a good reason.

During this time, Lovae can act as your journal: the date you stopped, your bleeding, how you feel. These are markers for you, and for whoever is looking after you.

This article is for information only. Lovae is not a medical device and does not replace medical advice. For any question about your contraception or your plans, ask your doctor, gynaecologist or midwife.

Sources

• Contraception and Reproductive Medicine · Return of fertility after stopping contraception, meta-analysis (Girum and Wasie, 2018)
• Boston University School of Public Health · When does fertility return after stopping contraceptive use? (BMJ study, 2020)
• NHS · Combined pill: what is it
• NHS · Contraceptive implant: what is it
• FDA · Depo-Provera CI prescribing information (2024)
• ACOG · Committee Opinion No 700: Methods for Estimating the Due Date (2017)
• HAS · Pregnancy planning: information, prevention messages and tests to offer (in French)
• Ameli · Seeing someone before getting pregnant: the preconception appointment (in French)
• Fertility and Sterility · Occurrence of menses or pregnancy after cessation of a continuous oral contraceptive (Davis et al., 2008)
• Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology · The fallacy of the postpill amenorrhea syndrome (Archer and Thomas, 1981)
• Ameli · What is amenorrhoea and when should you worry about missing periods? (in French)
• Ameli · Medical fertility assessment (in French)

Official sources, accessed in September 2026.