Red Tent Sisters

Holistic Reproductive, Fertility & Sexuality Solutions
  • Home
  • About
  • Services
  • Appointments
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Home
  • About
  • Services
  • Appointments
  • Blog
  • Contact

Blog

Expert, sisterly advice on women's most common sexual and reproductive health questions.

  • All
  • Coaching
  • Contraception
  • Eco Sex
  • Eco-Living
  • Fertility
  • Holistic Health
  • Menstruation
  • Natural Birth Control
  • Parenting
  • Relationships
  • Reproductive Health
  • Self-Help
  • Sexuality
  • Uncategorized

5 Reasons to Come Off The Pill 2+ Years Before You Plan to Start a Family

Amy Sedgwick October 21, 2015

Many of us spend years trying not to get pregnant, but what about when you do want to conceive? How does the pill affect your fertility?

If there's one piece of advice we wish we could give women who plan to have a baby one day, it would be to come off hormonal birth control two or more years before starting a family. We're big fans of ditching the pill in general, but for women who plan to come off it and try to conceive, hormonal birth control has a whole set of additional problems. The pill can delay time to conception, which can be be incredibly emotionally distressing. It may also have implications for the health of your child (new research is exploring the possible connection between hormonal contraception and autism). And in some cases, the health issues the pill causes or masks can take months or even years to reverse. This may be particularly concerning for women who are nearing the end of their reproductive years.

To minimize the chances that your birth control will delay or prevent you from conceiving when the time comes, consider coming off the birth control pill early. Here are five reasons why this is a good idea:

1.     The problems that existed before you went on the pill still exist now, even if you can’t see them. Many women are put on hormonal birth control to “manage” reproductive health issues – the same issues that will eventually cause problems for getting pregnant, such as PCOS, endometriosis, and irregular cycles. Unfortunately, rather than treating the problem, the pill simply represses many of the symptoms. By coming off hormonal birth control you can work on addressing the root causes of these issues, which will maximize your chances of conceiving and sustaining a pregnancy when you're ready.

2.     You may have developed health issues while on the pill that are being masked. Women who have healthy cycles when they go on the pill may have health or hormonal issues that develop while they are on it that are masked by hormonal contraception. Chronic stress can cause adrenal burnout and thyroid dysfunction, both of which affect fertility. By coming off the pill, you will have a chance to ascertain your body’s current state of health (as reflected by your menstrual cycle – a powerful barometer) and to address any issues that might have been overlooked due to symptom suppression. Our Fertility Management Secrets and Baby-Making Kick-Start package are both designed to help women assess and optimize their health.

3.     You should give yourself time to detox from the pill before conceiving. Hormone dosages from the pill are higher than what your body naturally makes, and the synthetic hormones from birth control are also not identical in molecular structure to our own natural hormones. Both these issues can contribute to a higher toxic load on the body. There is little to no research on the impacts of residual synthetic hormones on a growing fetus (that’s not exactly the kind of study that a pharmaceutical company wants to fund!) so we’d recommend airing on the side of caution and giving yourself several months or even years to fully detoxify from the pill, depending on how long you were on it.

4.     You need time to replenish essential nutrients that were depleted by the pill. The pill depletes many essential nutrients from the body, especially folate (folic acid) which is essential to preventing neural tube defects in babies. You’ll want to give your body time to replenish these micronutrients prior to conception in order to optimize your own health and support healthy development of your baby. 

5.     If you went on the pill at a young age, your reproductive system may not have fully matured. Did you know it takes about four years for a young woman’s reproductive system to fully mature? Taking hormonal contraception can prevent that maturation if a girl goes on it in adolescence, prior to her body reaching fully maturity. Since many girls go on the pill in their teenage years - sometimes due to sexual activity, sometimes to manage the challenges of that transition into reproductive maturity (acne, irregular cycles, etc.), it is important to allow a buffer of time for your body to finish sorting itself out.

We want every woman to enjoy an empowered fertility journey and in our experience, this is much easier for those who’ve had the opportunity to cycle naturally before trying to conceive. It’s a chance to gather important health information, heal the effects of hormonal contraception, and increase the likelihood of being able to conceive during the desired timeline. Perhaps most importantly, this time fosters a sense of connection with your body so that you can feel confident in your choices and trust the deep wisdom that lies within. 

References

Hassan, M.a.m. "Is Previous Use of Hormonal Contraception Associated with a Detrimental Effect on Subsequent Fecundity?" Human Reproduction 19.2 (2004): 344-51. Web.

Matus, Geraldine, Dr., and Megan Lalonde. Coming off the Pill, the Patch, the Shot and Other Hormonal Contraceptives.  CreateSpace, 28 Nov. 2014. Web.

Vaiserman, Alexander. "Early-life Exposure to Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals and Later-life Health Outcomes: An Epigenetic Bridge?" Aging and Reproduction 5.6 (2014): 419-29. Print.

Yen, Samuel S. C, Jerome F Strauss, and Robert L Barbieri. Yen And Jaffe's Reproductive Endocrinology. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier/Saunders, 2014. Print.


Have a friend who might benefit from this info? Click the "Share" button at the bottom left of this post to share this article on your favourite social media channel. 

Receive sisterly advice from Kim & Amy delivered weekly to your inbox

 

Kim & Amy Sedgwick love to discuss sex, periods, and all the other things we’re not supposed to talk about. The co-founders of Red Tent Sisters and ecosex.ca, they’ve been featured in every major Canadian news outlet and have become a trusted resource for women seeking natural (effective!) birth control, a more joyful sex life, and an empowered journey to motherhood.

InFertility, Holistic Health, Contraception, Natural Birth Control Tagsthe pill, coming off the pill, pregnancy, detox, hormonal birth control, folic acid, contraception
  • Blog
  • Older
  • Newer
Kim & Amy Sedgwick love to discuss sex, periods, and all the other things we’re not supposed to talk about. The co-founders of  Red Tent Sisters , they’ve been featured in every major Canadian news outlet and have become a trusted resource for people seeking natural (effective!) birth control, a more joyful sex life, and an empowered journey to motherhood.

Kim & Amy Sedgwick love to discuss sex, periods, and all the other things we’re not supposed to talk about. The co-founders of Red Tent Sisters, they’ve been featured in every major Canadian news outlet and have become a trusted resource for people seeking natural (effective!) birth control, a more joyful sex life, and an empowered journey to motherhood.

Popular Posts
Menstrual Cups 101: How to Choose the Right One For You
Menstrual Cups 101: How to Choose the Right One For You
Libido Mismatch: 5 Things I've Learned About Navigating Sexual Desire In Relationships
Libido Mismatch: 5 Things I've Learned About Navigating Sexual Desire In Relationships
Our Top 5 Period-Tracking Apps
Our Top 5 Period-Tracking Apps
Five Books That Changed How We Feel About Being a Woman
Five Books That Changed How We Feel About Being a Woman
A Fertile Mindset: How the Law of Attraction and the Power of Surrender Can Help You Overcome Infertility
A Fertile Mindset: How the Law of Attraction and the Power of Surrender Can Help You Overcome Infertility
Withdrawal: A Sex Educator’s Take On How and When to Use the ‘Pull-Out’ Method
Withdrawal: A Sex Educator’s Take On How and When to Use the ‘Pull-Out’ Method

What can we help you with?

Birth Control.png
Health.png
Sexuality.jpg
Fertility.jpg
  • Coaching
  • Contraception
  • Eco Sex
  • Eco-Living
  • Fertility
  • Holistic Health
  • Menstruation
  • Natural Birth Control
  • Parenting
  • Relationships
  • Reproductive Health
  • Self-Help
  • Sexuality
  • Uncategorized

Instagram

Spending the day sending my Confidence Building Secrets course out into the world and sipping coffee from the same @goodvibestoys mug that was gifted to me when I first launched this program. #pleasureisyourbirthright
In 2017 I was deep in reflection mode thanks to my CTI coaching program. One of my many “aha” moments was that I had a tendency to avoid difficult conversations in my relationships. If I was hurt or angry, I’d keep it to myself or share it with everyone but my partner. Inevitably, those feelings would manifest as passive-aggressive behavior or lead to conversations that included accusations like, “you never”. In other words, I would make gross generalizations that of course put the other person on the defensive and guaranteed that what I was trying to express wouldn’t be received. I knew the importance of good communication but somehow that knowledge wasn’t translating into action. 
Drawing on what I’d learned from my training program, immersing myself in the work of people like Esther Perel, Brené Brown, and Harriet Lerner, and reflecting on my own coaching practice, I put together a framework for how I wanted to engage with my partner. The process poured out of me in one sitting. It’s what Amy and I like to call “channeling” – that feeling when an idea flows effortlessly. 
The framework is based on three general principles:

We don’t need to share everything in order to be authentic. There are some things that are better processed with a friend, a therapist/coach, or a journal. 
Be clear with yourself first about what you need to get out of the conversation. You can’t get what you don’t ask for.

There are three “people” in every relationship – you, your partner and the relationship. You’re not responsible for the other person and you can’t change their behavior. You can change how you show up in the relationship and that will have a ripple effect.

I’ve had the opportunity to “test” my framework several times with my new partner and all I can say is this sh*t makes a difference. It truly feels like the culmination of my career thus far and I can’t wait to share it with you all. I’m still fine-tuning and tweaking, but I know I’m on to something. Amy is holding me accountable and helping me turn this into what I know it is meant to be – a book. Until then, if you feel like communication is something that you would like coaching on, click the link in bio.
Enjoying a lie-down on our favourite lake. #silentlake #sistertime
Sister time! #leslieville #40thbirthday
facebook youtube pinterest instagram
  • Resources
  • FAQ
  • Privacy Policy
  • Search

Red Tent Sisters

Holistic Reproductive, Fertility & Sexuality Solutions

Kim & Amy Sedgwick are the Co-Founders of Red Tent Sisters, a business that has been providing holistic fertility, sexuality and contraceptive solutions since 2007. Amy is trained as a Holistic Reproductive Health Practitioner who specializes in helping women coming off the pill adopt natural, effective birth control using the Justisse Method. Kim runs their “sister” business, ecosex.ca (Canada’s first eco-friendly sexuality store) and coaches women who are ready to begin claiming and communicating their erotic desires. Together they provide support to women worldwide through their online courses, YouTube videos, and social media channels, and are known for their professional yet candid sisterly advice.

facebook youtube pinterest instagram