The pill is thought to work in three ways:
1. Preventing ovulation
2. Altering the cervical mucus (makes it difficult for sperm to swim through)
3. Altering the uterine lining (so if you do ovulate, and if sperm does get through the cervix to fertilize the egg, the uterine lining environment is not conducive for implantation)
This is why the pill can not be 100% effective at preventing pregnancy (it's close, at 99%), because it ideally prevents ovulation every time, but it can't be 100% guaranteed that it does for every woman, every cycle.
If you suddenly stop taking the pill, it is unknown when you may ovulate. Every woman is different, and seeing as how an egg may be released while you take a pill, it may also be released the day-after you stop the pill....or it may take your body a few months for it's hormones to begin the process of regularly ovulating on a predictable basis.
It helps to know that ovulation is not a one-time occurrence every month, but our body's hormones are actually working every day through a process that leads to the maturation of an egg, the release of the egg ("ovulation"), the thickening of the uterine lining...and a million other reproductive-processes throughout every cycle. These are the reasons it is impossible to know when exactly a woman will ovulate when she stops taking the pill, as none of it is an exact science.
Does that answer your question? Do you have any more questions?
Comment Reply
Hi Annabelle,
It's OK..it is confusing!!
The pill is thought to work in three ways:
1. Preventing ovulation
2. Altering the cervical mucus (makes it difficult for sperm to swim through)
3. Altering the uterine lining (so if you do ovulate, and if sperm does get through the cervix to fertilize the egg, the uterine lining environment is not conducive for implantation)
This is why the pill can not be 100% effective at preventing pregnancy (it's close, at 99%), because it ideally prevents ovulation every time, but it can't be 100% guaranteed that it does for every woman, every cycle.
If you suddenly stop taking the pill, it is unknown when you may ovulate. Every woman is different, and seeing as how an egg may be released while you take a pill, it may also be released the day-after you stop the pill....or it may take your body a few months for it's hormones to begin the process of regularly ovulating on a predictable basis.
It helps to know that ovulation is not a one-time occurrence every month, but our body's hormones are actually working every day through a process that leads to the maturation of an egg, the release of the egg ("ovulation"), the thickening of the uterine lining...and a million other reproductive-processes throughout every cycle. These are the reasons it is impossible to know when exactly a woman will ovulate when she stops taking the pill, as none of it is an exact science.
Does that answer your question? Do you have any more questions?
January 7, 2010 - 2:31pmThis Comment
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