Maybe you’ve heard it’s a myth that birth control can negatively affect your future fertility.
4 ways birth control may be affecting your fertility.
Does this mean birth control causes fertility struggles?
This symptom has been termedpost-pill amenorrhea1.
Depleting antioxidants.
Almost20% of women2seeking treatment for fertility struggles show signs of advanced ovarian aging.
Antioxidants protect our cells from free radicals and are crucial in ovarian health.
How does birth control fit into this?
The pill is associated withdepletion of antioxidants3like CoQ10, vitamin E, vitamin C, and selenium.
Several smallstudies4have shown that women using the pill have lower levels of CoQ10, which can affect fertility.
This means that the combination of birth control and the natural aging process can hinder your fertility.
Thinning the uterine lining.
Making it harder to find a “compatible” mate.
I want to be super clear that this is a theory only, but it is worth a mention.
When should you stop birth control if you want to get pregnant?
Unearth the root cause.
Begin a quality prenatal vitamin.
These are all important for fertility, a healthy pregnancy, and a developing baby.
Consider a CoQ10 supplement.
Animalstudies5have shown delayed ovarian reserve depletion when supplementing with CoQ10.
We know birth control depletes CoQ10, and this directly affects mitochondrial health.
Supplementing with CoQ10 maysupportbetter egg quality and pregnancy outcomes.
Nourish your ovaries.
Healthy fats from avocados and cold-water fish can boost egg health and help keep your ovaries young, too.
Consider adding royal jelly to your diet as well (it’s actually great in smoothies!
Don’t skimp on sleep.
Melatoninis not only a sleep hormone but a key antioxidant in protecting your ovaries.
Or, at the very least, start wearing some blue-light-blockingamber glasses.
If you’re a smoker, quit.
Sounds obvious, but it’s a must.
Years of data have shown that smoking can make it difficult to become pregnant and lead to early menopause.