In today’s age, we are told to take the pill until we want to conceive, and then come off of the pill once we are ready to start a family.
This is a lie. Unfortunately, it is not as simple as just, coming off of the pill and going back to normal. In fact, often young women are putting on the pill due to hormonal issues, such as irregular periods. Well, instead of normalizing periods, the pill pauses ovulation and simply masks the problem.
Birth control is a bandaid, not a solution.
I will say it again: Birth control is a bandaid, not a solution.
Often when women come off of the pill this fact becomes evident, as various hormonal issues that were there previously come back with a vengeance, or issues that were never there before suddenly appear.
Post-birth control syndrome is a real thing ya’ll, and it effects more of the population than we realize. So, how do we come off of the pill safely? I am here to walk you through this today!
For those of you who do not know me, I am McKenna, and I have been specially trained in scientifically-backed methods of hormone free birth control and fertility optimization. I am so excited to walk alongside you as you begin on this journey of leaving birth control behind. You never need to look back, I promise.
Why You Should Come Off the Pill
Hormonal birth control essentially works by suppressing the vital hormones that lead to ovulation. It shuts off communication between the brain and reproductive organs, blocking the body’s ability to ovulate. This is a problem, because in a woman of reproductive age, ovulation is essential to health.
When the body is getting a constant influx of artificial hormones that halt the ovulatory process, it comes with a plethora of long-term risks. You can take a deep dive into hormonal birth control here, but here are a few of the issues with birth control:
- Detrimental to the liver and detoxification systems
- Increased risk of insulin resistance
- Post-pill PCOS
- Breaks down gut lining, leading to various digestive issues
- Increased risk of certain cancers
- Impedes the absorption and utilization of essential nutrients such as B vitamins (including folate), magnesium, copper, iron, zinc, vitamin A, vitamin C, and more.
That last one is a really big deal in light of the decision to come off the pill in order to conceive, because it means that the body is going to go into pregnancy already depleted of nutrients that are absolutely essential to a developing infant in utero.
Tips to Transition off of Hormonal Birth Control
The pill is a very big stressor on the body. So, when you come off of the pill, this should be treated as a season of healing and recovery. In fact, I recommend that if you want to come off of the pill to conceive, give yourself 1-2 years of recovery first. The body needs to replenish what the pill stole.
Here are some of my main tips in order to support this time of healing:
1. Eat a nutrient dense diet to restore the nutrients lost
As mentioned above, birth control absolutely deprives the body of nutrients that are key to women’s health and fertility. Consume an ancestral diet, packed full of nose-to-tail eating, foods rich in fat-soluble vitamins, eggs, dark leafy greens, seafood, fresh-water fish, raw milk, cruciferous veggies, and fermented foods.
You can read more about what a nutrient-dense diet looks like here, or check out this incredible book, “Deep Nutrition.”
2. Support digestion
The pill is absolutely brutal towards digestive processes. Digestion is essential to support when you come off of the pill. For starters, I recommend checking out this post here.
Digestion begins in the brain, so slowing down when you eat can be a free and simple way to begin this support processes. Take a few moments of gratitude before your first bite, chew your food slowly, and enjoy what you eat.
The amazing thing is that consuming a nutrient-dense diet involves consuming lots of gut healing foods, like bone broth, probiotics, and fiber-rich sources.
While you support digestion, it is really important that you avoid refined and artificial sugar. Stick to natural sources of sugar for now, like fruits. This will help to support that healthy gut bacteria instead of feeding any bad strains that can pop up with birth control use.
Supporting digestion is super important because a supported digestive system supports liver health and detox pathways. If you come off of the pill, estrogen levels are most likely extremely high, and the liver is too overburdened to get rid of its excess.
By supporting digestion through relaxation strategies and a nutrient dense diet, the liver and estrogen detox pathways are better freed up and nutritionally supplied to do their magic. This helps get the body back to a place of balance after transitioning off birth control.
3. Find ways to reduce stress
The more you are able to regulate your nervous system, the more supported your body will be to come back into balance post-pill. As mentioned above, coming off of the pill should be treated as a season of recovery.
Your body is recovering from the daily influx of toxins and the stress of having no way of communicating between two essential things, the brain and the reproductive system.
Take this time to truly rest, so that your body knows it is safe. It could almost be described that your body thinks its been running away from a bear for however long you have been on the pill.
If you were running for your life one day, it would be hard to immediately get back to life the next day. You would take time to rest, you would take time to give your body the restoration it needs.
Here are some of my tips for how to reduce stress levels and support a balanced nervous system.
4. Learn how to track your cycle
When you come off of the pill, your body is re-learning how to communicate internally. Wouldn’t it be fun if you could learn along with it?
Becoming in tune with your body and its cycle is key to healing after the pill. This can give you an overall picture of how your hormones look post-pill. I hope you also gained a better understanding of how to naturally support yourself.
If you want to learn how to track your cycle I can teach you how! Just check out this page!
Recap on How to Come off of the Pill
When you come off of the pill, you need a game plan for how to support your body in order to restore fertility. Some key things you can do in order to support your body are to eat a nutrient dense diet, support gut health, reduce stress levels, and learn how to track your cycle.
