What Can I Expect Using NFP Post Pill?
Question
After being on the pill since the age of 15 (six years now) my husband and I decided that it’s in my own best interest that I stop taking it. We are registered to start taking a natural family planning class. What are the odds that I can get pregnant in the few months after coming off the pill and my whole system is out of sync? What can I expect in the first few months after the transition from hormonal birth control to NFP?
Danielle
Answer
Last Updated: February 3, 2022
Congratulations! This step is a great investment in your health—-physical, relational, and spiritual!
If you are asking if you can assume it is unlikely you will conceive in the first few months coming off the pill, the answer is no. Some women conceive very quickly coming off the pill (some even conceive while ON the pill!), and others take a long time to fully recover their fertility, and a percentage have permanent effects from pill use.
I would recommend using your new NFP knowledge to avoid a pregnancy for about six months, before intentionally pursuing pregnancy, to give your body time to recover from your years on the pill, and increase the likelihood of a healthy full term pregnancy.
As far as what to expect—-that really varies. What I find very helpful about using NFP while coming off the pill, is the couple can actually observe their recovery process. Day by day, and cycle by cycle, they watch her body return to normal function, and I think this is very enlightening, and very empowering. How long it takes normal function to return varies. Some women ovulate within just a couple weeks of coming off the pill, and have a fairly normal cycle right away, others have a long delay in the return to ovulation. It is not unusual for the pre-ovulatory, and post ovulatory phases of the cycle to be erratic and irregular, and mucus to come and go and temp readings to be erratic while her body attempts to “remember” how to function normally. However, she can still count on the effectiveness of the NFP method—ie, if the method tells her it is an infertile day, this will be accurate.
It is always important to work with a certified teacher to apply the principles of NFP to your unique circumstances, and I congratulate you on having the wisdom to pursue instruction, and wish you the best on your road to becoming an expert on your own body and fertility. Even if it takes a few months for your body to settle down, you and your husband will be able to clearly identify fertile and infertile times during this process and, with good instruction, quickly become confident in your use of NFP.
Sheila St. John
If you are asking if you can assume it is unlikely you will conceive in the first few months coming off the pill, the answer is no. Some women conceive very quickly coming off the pill (some even conceive while ON the pill!), and others take a long time to fully recover their fertility, and a percentage have permanent effects from pill use.
I would recommend using your new NFP knowledge to avoid a pregnancy for about six months, before intentionally pursuing pregnancy, to give your body time to recover from your years on the pill, and increase the likelihood of a healthy full term pregnancy.
As far as what to expect—-that really varies. What I find very helpful about using NFP while coming off the pill, is the couple can actually observe their recovery process. Day by day, and cycle by cycle, they watch her body return to normal function, and I think this is very enlightening, and very empowering. How long it takes normal function to return varies. Some women ovulate within just a couple weeks of coming off the pill, and have a fairly normal cycle right away, others have a long delay in the return to ovulation. It is not unusual for the pre-ovulatory, and post ovulatory phases of the cycle to be erratic and irregular, and mucus to come and go and temp readings to be erratic while her body attempts to “remember” how to function normally. However, she can still count on the effectiveness of the NFP method—ie, if the method tells her it is an infertile day, this will be accurate.
It is always important to work with a certified teacher to apply the principles of NFP to your unique circumstances, and I congratulate you on having the wisdom to pursue instruction, and wish you the best on your road to becoming an expert on your own body and fertility. Even if it takes a few months for your body to settle down, you and your husband will be able to clearly identify fertile and infertile times during this process and, with good instruction, quickly become confident in your use of NFP.
Sheila St. John
Answered By:
Sheila St. John
Sheila St. John is the Executive Director of the California Association of Natural Family Planning, coordinating the non-profit’s education and advocacy efforts throughout the state. Initially attracted to NFP as a healthy, effective method for planning families, drug, device and surgery free, her passion for NFP has grown over the last 42 years as she has journeyed with the over 900 couples she has personally instructed in its use, and been privileged to witness its role in overcoming infertility, women’s health, and the transformation that occurs in lives of men, women, and families, when we embrace God’s design for love and life.
