Birth control pill and infertility

[VooDooChild]

I figured as much. BCP masks unknown problems. Thanks to Ya'll and science for the confirmation. Ms. Thang's doc, if what he said was not an exxageration on her part, needs to seek a new profession. How can a doctor not understand that correlation is not causation? I mean, that's Any Science 101.

[docmom]

Thank you to the folks who have posted the actual scientific evidence which clearly shows there is no correlation between taking OCPs and infertility. As pointed out, one of the reasons people take the pill is to regulate their periods- a condition which is often associated with underlying infertility. Another reason people take the pill is to prevent pregnancy :D . This often happens during the time of life when women are at their most fertile (their 20's). One of the biggest risk factors for infertility is age and women are having their children when they are older. OCPs have no effect positive or negative on egg reserve. Remember women have lots of eggs (1-2 million at birth) but most of these die off by a process known as atresia until puberty when the average woman has around 400,000 eggs. With each menstrual cycle a hundred or so will die off. OCPs actually decrease the size of the ovaries and the follicles but have no effect on AMH (anti-Mullerian Hormone) which predicts actual ovarian reserve. Why some women go through early menopause and have less ovarian reserve is not known but it's not the pill.

[rward]

The pill isn't guaranteed to preserve fertility at all. I think it's dangerous for doctors to be giving out that kind of information.

Nobody said it was guaranteed to do anything. For certain medical conditions, BCP can help preserve fertility. It certainly doesn't cause infertility.

There are a lot of causes of infertility. Some are common, some are rare, some are combinations of things, including genetics. Doctors can't always find a reason, so it's easy for women to blame BCP, especially when the only other thing to blame is their own bodies.

[August]

This is NOT true...I was on the pill for the majority of the time between ages 15-19, went off just before I turned 20 and started TTC at 20, at 21 I found out I have low AMH, which is low egg reserves. I'm 23 now and still TTC and have the egg reserves of a 40+ year old.

Yes, not true. The pill only stops ovulation. It doesn't stop a cohort of eggs being recruited, developing and withering each month. Nothing about your health, your activity level, your hair, your skin or anything else indicates that your eggs are any younger than you are. In fact, they could be older than you.

[Closed Womb]

He said "women who take birth control pills are the #1 infertility patients". I was shocked. I was numb. I was so angry with myself.

Oh, FFS! The doctor literally said NOTHING here.

Considering the birth control pill is the most popular method of birth control, it is perfectly logical that birth control pills users were his #1 infertility patients. I hate to get this all mottled up with logic, but if 10 patients were wedding night virgins who use no birth control and 3 have fertility problems while 1000 people use the pill and 30 have fertility problems, an argument cannot be made against the pill no matter how much bigger 30 is than 3. Welcome to Occam's Razor, "doctor." http://www.webmd.com/sex/birth-control/ ... ion-method

If this is a fundie doctor, he is clearly looking for a reason to blame the evil woman. If he is just a bad doctor that is mistaking correlation for causation, then the fundie decided to start the self-flagellation simply as a matter of habit.

And, who the fuck compares the human reproductive system to a computer booting up?

[AnnieC 305]

Not only was the pill masking my fertility issues, it was partially curing them. The only times I managed to conceive was when I was on the pill.

Five times.

Unfortunately it wasn't enough hormones for me to maintain the pregnancy, but it did help me conceive.

[Butterflykisses101]

Nobody said it was guaranteed to do anything. For certain medical conditions, BCP can help preserve fertility.

Birth control doesn't help preserve fertility at all, doesn't matter what the medical condition is. So doctors saying it does, is dangerous. Doctors should not be giving out that kind of misinformation.

[Dysfundamental]

Birth control doesn't help preserve fertility at all, doesn't matter what the medical condition is. So doctors saying it does, is dangerous. Doctors should not be giving out that kind of misinformation.

Doctors are basing that opinion on studies that suggest it can have that effect for some people. Are there other studies out there that suggest different conclusions than the ones we've linked in the thread so far?

[bananacat]

Oh god, people are so credulous. No, hormonal birth control does not cause infertility. It doesn't work that way. Anecdotal evidence is unreliable in any case, but especially when you're getting it from fundies who have an agenda and also don't understand basic biology. And some doctors are liars and/or stupid, unfortunately.

[kitkat]

Hormonal birth control doesn't universally preserve fertility, no. But for women who have certain medical conditions, including PCOS, birth control pills are an important tool in managing the symptoms and in preserving fertility. This is especially true for women like me, who have milder forms of PCOS.

[Butterflykisses101]

Hormonal birth control doesn't universally preserve fertility, no. But for women who have certain medical conditions, including PCOS, birth control pills are an important tool in managing the symptoms and in preserving fertility. This is especially true for women like me, who have milder forms of PCOS.

I have PCOS and know of many other women who also have PCOS and the pill does not preserve fertility (I know of quite a few who also have low AMH levels)....it does not stop egg reserves from dropping. Doctors should not be saying it preserves/may preserve fertility as women will take a doctors word as fact and put off TTC for longer as 'the pill is preserving their fertility' and then find they have left it too late or only have poor quality eggs left.

The only reason they would be saying it preserves fertility for medical conditions like PCOS is because they will sometimes have huge egg reserves. The pill isn't actually preserving fertility but rather these women have more eggs to lose so will likely still have a good amount when they come off the pill. I'm not saying it can't be useful, it certainly can, but doctors saying it preserves fertility is dangerous as women are going to take it as FACT.

[desertvixen]

Count me as another one of the anecdotal crowd who got pregnant their second month of trying. Then got pregnant a second time while on BC (ended in a very early miscarriage that was actually how I discovered I had been pregnant).

Also, if the pill causes infertility long term, could someone explain all the women who get pregnant while ON it?