Birth control pills & egg freezing: start with fertility testing to decide if you need a break before your egg freezing cycle. You can freeze eggs with an IUD & it won't affect your egg and embryo freezing.
September 30, 2023
We are often asked what is the effect of birth control on fertility and fertility preservation. It’s important to understand that different birth control methods work differently and can or cannot affect your egg freezing cycle. Let’s go over the most popular ones.
Birth control pills, vaginal rings, and birth control patches are all types of combined hormonal contraception (CHC) which include the combination of hormones such as estrogen and progesterone. They work by introducing additional hormones into the body which prevent women from ovulation. Even though sometimes birth control pills are prescribed for a few weeks to prepare for IVF or egg freezing if they have been used for a much longer period it may lead to a lower egg count aka worse response to fertility medication and worse results during your freezing cycle. It’s recommended to have a few months' break from taking birth control pills to normalize ovulation and it may take up to 6 months for some patients with significantly depressed levels of anti-Mullerian hormone and antral follicle count (egg count measures).
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In contrast to other birth control methods, IUD works locally and does not affect ovulation in the same way as pills. Multiple empirical studies show that egg and embryo freezing results are the same for patients with or without IUDs. That means that you can freeze your eggs with an IUD and it won’t affect the outcomes of the procedure.
You can restart your birth control with your next period, which starts 5-7 days after retrieval. With services like SimpleHealth, Nurx or Hers, it became easier to do that.
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Conclusion
While most common birth control methods do not have a long-term effect on fertility, some of the methods like birth control pills may have a short-term effect on your egg count and hormone medication response. If you are using birth control pills, it is recommended to test your hormones like AMH and FSH as well as antral follicle count to understand if you need a break before starting your egg freezing cycle. If you use IUD, there is no need to remove the device before the egg and embryo freezing and that would not affect your results.
We at Blooming Eve know how complicated and confusing egg freezing can be. To help solve this issue, we designed a service that guides you through the process, provides expert support, and helps you optimize your costs and get financing if needed. Do you have more questions? Let's chat!
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