Birth control pills marked a milestone in women’s sense of freedom to choose their fertility and sexuality. However, it isn’t the ideal method for everyone and some prefer to discontinue its use.
Since the advent of birth control pills, women feel free to choose the ideal time to start a family without giving up their sexuality. However, even though hormonal contraception has evolved since its inception, adverse effects are still a common cause for abandoning the method. For this reason, it’s logical that you may have wondered“what happens if I stop taking birth control pills?”
The goal of starting a contraceptive method is to use it with continuity. For this reason, adequate counseling provides accurate information about the different options available, clarifying any doubts.
This accompaniment helps the choice of method. A health professional should take into account the needs and desires of the patient, thus reducing abandonment and resolving questions such as“what happens if I stop taking the birth control pills?”
Although there are various reasons why a woman may stop taking birth control pills, it’s important not to stop taking them due to adverse effects of the pills.
This is why it’s necessary to have realistic counseling. Current pharmacological compositions tend to have better safety ratings. Many of the side effects that were common in previous pills have diminished.
It’s also important to provide guidance on the actions that can be taken when a problem arises. This is to ensure that the woman can feel confident with the use of birth control pills from the very beginning.
Counseling should also emphasize that the most common side effects are usually temporary, so they may improve over time. These include the following:
The main effect when you stop taking birth control pills is the possibility of becoming pregnant again. Stopping the method leads to the reappearance of ovulation, so fertility is restored.
However, the variability shown among women who used an oral contraceptive in relation to fertility has made it difficult to establish a safety period. This depends as much on the hormonal concentration of the method as on the continuity and time of use.
It’s accepted that some factors specific to each woman also play an important role
It’s therefore advisable to use a barrier method to avoid unwanted pregnancies if oral contraception is discontinued.
Ovulation inhibition is considered the main contraceptive mechanism of the pills
However, other effects, such as decreased endometrial proliferation, prevent the uterus from preparing for possible implantation, aiding contraception. This mechanism has the additional advantage of causing fewer and more regular periods.
Abrupt discontinuation of birth control pills leads to the occurrence of hormonal changes sufficient to trigger irregular bleeding. Similarly, the protective effect of oral contraceptives on the intensity of pain that appears in some patients during menstruation disappears, triggering varying degrees of dysmenorrhea.
Another additional benefit of combined hormonal contraception is the antiandrogenic effect it produces. This is very useful in women who have acne or hirsutism problems.
The discontinuation of contraceptive pills is related to the reappearance of the symptoms and the consequent impact they have on the woman.
Although oral contraceptives have been used as a method of birth control, they aren’t used for this exclusively
. Therefore, if they were prescribed for something other than birth control, it’s essential to seek advice before discontinuing them.
It’s assumed that the anti-androgenic effect causes a decrease in free testosterone levels
in the body. Therefore, a decrease in sexual desire would appear with the use of oral contraceptives.
Sexuality involves complex processes,
from hormonal, biochemical, and psychosocial points of view. The simple fact that a woman resorts to the use of contraceptive pills is a clear indication of her desire to maintain an active sexual life.
Because of this complexity, it’s difficult to establish the real relationship between contraceptives and sexual function
. However, the decision to discontinue may highlight an emotional component that would otherwise go unnoticed.
Finally, the same impact on the sexual and emotional sphere can be extrapolated to women’s behavior. Generally speaking, birth control pills are a viable option for people who maintain a conscientious and responsible sex life
, i.e. a woman who has an exclusive partner.
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) remain a possibility. Prevention of STIs requires the use of barrier methods, such as condoms, which is one of the options available to women who abandon birth control pills.