Getting your period again, once off the Pill
Since one of the important indicators of potential fertility is a period, it’s necessary for every woman going off the Pill to get a handle on her cycle when she considers other birth control methods. Importantly, the bleeding pattern you had while on the Pill does not predict what will occur when you go off. Some women who are especially thin or athletic may skip bleeding altogether on the Pill †and perhaps when they go off.
If you stop taking birth control hormones and do not get a period, don’t assume you’ve entered menopause. As I mentioned above, a woman can sometimes take several months to settle back into her natural hormonal rhythm. Other women may need a few months of progesterone support to initiate a natural period.
If six months to a year goes by without a period, ask your practitioner for an FSH test. If 18 months go by without a period and your blood test indicates menopause, it is safe to assume that you will not get pregnant. Until then, if you do not want to become pregnant, you should practice some form of birth control or abstinence.
Although there is no perfect contraception solution for every situation, we’re fortunate nowadays to have a range of birth control options for women. But I want to discuss one in particular here, the IUD.
