Last week was the 50 year anniversary of The Pill. I missed it. I guess I should have celebrated since for me The Pill is the only thing that keeps my hormones in check.

There’s always been quite a debate within “the church” about The Pill. Many see it as a form of abortion (don’t get Dr. Rupe started on that) while others see it as taking control of your fertility – an act which should be left up to the Creator of life. While I think there is some truth to the fact that we need to allow God His place in the creation of our family, having received legitimate, medical benefits from The Pill, I believe there are several sides to the story.

Like most things, the great Pill debate is not that black and white. More than anything the decision on whether or not to take The Pill needs to be based on the facts (which can be obtained through adequate research, not mommy-blog debates) as well as personal conviction and prayer.

I’m not going to say any more because I don’t want anyone to be influenced by MY opinion or circumstances. For me The Pill worked and actually helped. Heck, I’m probably going to be taking The Pill until I hit menopause unless they find some other way to manage PCOS.

Everyone has a story about The Pill. It makes this one crazy and this other one fat. This one got pregnant on it so it probably doesn’t even work anyway. Recently, there have been some allegations against it for some who suffered serious affects. If you like a heated debate, visit Girls Gone Wise and read a recent article about The Pill and the many passionate responses it received. If you want to know the facts, refer back to Dr. Rupes Mythbusters post about The Pill and perhaps we’ll get her to write some more on it in the near future.

Whatever you decide is best for you in regards to birth control, be confident in your decision. As long as you have peace with God and are in agreement with your spouse, it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. . .regarding The Pill or anything else for that matter.

There are just so many myths about the birth control pill I barely know where to start, but I wanted to address a few of the more common ones. One of the most common questions I get is:

“I’ve been on the pill for 2 years, so how long will I need to go off the pill before I want to get pregnant?”

The answer is 2 months.

“But I’ve been on the pill for 5 years, so how long will I need to go off the pill before I want to get pregnant?”

The answer is 2 months.

But I’ve been on the pill for 10 years, so how long will I need to go off the pill before I want to get pregnant?”

The answer is 2 months.

The good (or bad ) thing about the pill is that it has a short “half life.” It is only in your system for about 24 hours. That’s how people get ‘pregnant on the pill,’ they miss one or two and their ovary slips out an egg. There is not some kind of tolerance that your body builds up to the pill over time. There are a lot of women who think the longer they are on the pill the harder it is going to be to get pregnant. THIS IS NOT TRUE. Actually, if you are prone to ovarian cysts or have a history of endometriosis then being on the pill can be PROTECTIVE of your fertility. The pill helps prevent cysts from forming and endometriosis from growing. As a general rule, we recommend having one cycle off the pill and then try to conceive the month after that.

Another common myth is that you should give “your body a break” from the pill every few years. This is also not true. Now there are certain people who should not take the pill at all (such as smokers over the age of 35), and obviously if you don’t need the pill you shouldn’t take it (yes, I know, I’m starting to sound like the announcer that talks fast at the end of the drug commercials). However, if you are happy with the pill and your doctor says that you have no medical problems that would interfere with it, then there is no need to give your body a break from it.

So, those of you considering pregnancy should definitely start taking prenatal vitamins, but don’t stop using birth control until you want to get pregnant. I was once asked by a patient (not Jess!) if she should stop her birth control pills when she started her clomid? Hmmmmmm. I’ll go with yes on that one.

FYI: if you are on the depo-provera shot, that is another story. It can take up to year for ovulation to return.