How Well Does The Birth Control Shot Work To Prevent Pregnancy
The birth control shot is an effective birth control method. Over the course of a year, about 6 out of 100 typical couples who use the birth control shot will have an accidental pregnancy. The chance of getting pregnant increases if a girl waits longer than 3 months to get her next shot.
In general, how well each type of birth control method works depends on a lot of things. These include whether a person has any health conditions or is taking any medicines that might affect its use. It also depends on whether the method is convenient and whether the person remembers to use it correctly all of the time.
Regular Menstrual Cycle Returns
Having a regular menstrual cycle is the most obvious sign that ovulation has started. Your menstrual cycle lasts from the first day of your period to the first day of your next period. Your cycles are considered regular or normal when they meet the following conditions:
- Duration: Your periods last 8 days or fewer
- Flow volume: You lose between 2 to 3 tablespoons of menstrual fluid during each period. Just spotting could be a sign that you’re not ovulating.
- Frequency: Your periods typically come every 24 to 38 days . This means that from the first day of your last period up to the start of your next period is at least 24 days but no more than 38 days.
- Regularity: Your cycles are consistent from month to month. For example, your cycle is 27 days long one month, and 29 the next. Cycles that vary in length by more than 7 to 9 days are considered irregular.
Irregular cycles are a possible sign of ovulation problems.Irregular cycles are normal when you’re getting injections and just after you stop the shot.
Can I Get Pregnant After Receiving One Depo
Yes, says Dr. Tami Prince, an OB-GYN with the Womenâs Health and Wellness Center of Georgia:
- “Pregnancy can occur after only one Depo Provera injection if the timing of the injection is off.”
While the injection can be administered anytime during the cycle, she says, pregnancy must be ruled out first. This usually involves taking a pregnancy test at the first visit and another one in two weeks. If both pregnancy tests are negative, the Depo-Provera injection may be administered.
“If the injection is given without both negative pregnancy tests, and more than five days after menses, there is a possibility that pregnancy can occur, as ovulation would not have been accurately calculated,” says Dr. Prince.
For women who have just delivered a baby, their normal menstrual cycle may not have returned. A health care provider might give a pregnancy test to ensure that the woman isn’t pregnant again before administering the shot.
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Does The Morning After Pill Affect Fertility
The short answer: The ‘morning after pill’ doesnt affect long-term future fertility.
The long answer: Similar to the combined contraceptive pill, the ‘morning after pill’ is designed to prevent pregnancy by delaying or preventing ovulation. This method of emergency contraception has no effect on future fertility. There is no evidence to suggest that the morning after pill affects fertility in any way except by preventing pregnancy in the short-term as intended.
When Should I See My Doctor About Irregular Bleeding
Since every womans body reacts differently to these birth control methods, it can be hard to know when irregular bleeding is abnormal. You should see your doctor if you experience abnormal bleeding:
- And are pregnant
- And you have been using the same method of birth control for more than three months
- That is unexpected
- And you are younger than 8 years old or have no other signs of puberty and have vaginal bleeding
You should also see your doctor if you are taking a combined contraceptive pill and your periods have stopped completely during the week of placebo pills, although in many cases this can be normal.
There are treatments available for irregular bleeding that can help, or your doctor may recommend changes to your birth control method.
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Can You Get Pregnant Without Having A Period
Rachel Gurevich is a fertility advocate, author, and recipient of The Hope Award for Achievement, from Resolve: The National Infertility Association. She is a professional member of the Association of Health Care Journalists and has been writing about womens health since 2001. Rachel uses her own experiences with infertility to write compassionate, practical, and supportive articles.
Brian Levine, MD, MS, is board-certified in obstetrics and gynecology as well as in reproductive endocrinology and infertility.
Can you get pregnant without having a period in months? Yes, its possible, but its not likely. If youre not getting your periods, this is a good reason to see your gynecologist. There are some normaland some not-so-normalreasons this can occur. What could cause you not to get your periods? Could you be pregnant and not know it?
What do your periods have to do with getting pregnant? And, if you want to get pregnant, how can your doctor help you conceive if youre not menstruating?
When Will Regular Periods Resume
The length of time it takes for periods to resume varies from person to person based on a number of factors. Stress, exercise, body weight, and overall health can all influence when periods will return and how regular they will be.
In the absence of another health condition, though, normal fertility including regular ovulation and periods usually resumes within 3 months.
A 2018 systematic review and meta-analysis of people who stopped using hormonal contraceptives in order to conceive found that 83.1% were pregnant after 1 year.
This suggests that for most people, fertility and periods return to normal within the space of 1 year, and often sooner than this.
Other causes for late periods after stopping birth control include:
- some chronic health conditions, such as inflammatory bowel disease
Even if pregnancy seems unlikely, it is worth getting a pregnancy test. With typical use, about 7% of people using birth control pills, patches, or rings will become pregnant. After stopping birth control, the risk immediately becomes higher, even if someone is not yet experiencing regular periods.
Additionally, spotting is common early in pregnancy, so light or irregular bleeding does not mean a person is not pregnant.
People who miss their periods should consider regularly testing for pregnancy until periods return.
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Can I Get Pregnant Even If My Period Hasnt Resumed Yet
Yes, about 70% or women will conceive within 12 months after the last injection even if normal menses has not returned. As long as normal ovulation has returned, pregnancy may occur. Ovulation occurs first, then your period, so theoretically you can conceive without your first period after discontinuing Depo shots. Once your menstrual cycles resume, you should have no increased difficulty conceiving particularly if your periods were regular prior to using Depo Provera.
If a Depo injection is given without two negative pregnancy tests and more than five days after your period, there is a chance you could get pregnant.
When To Stop Depo
If you’re hoping to get pregnant in the near future, you should stop taking Depo-Provera right away. It usually takes several months to conceive after the injectionsbut for some people, regular ovulation might not return for 18 months , according to the manufacturer’s website. If you still need to use birth control in the meantime, consider reversible forms of contraception such as an intrauterine device or condoms until you’re officially ready to start trying.
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Ovulating Without Getting Your Period
If you are not getting your periods, you are probably not ovulating regularly. There are a number of reasons this may occur . However, this doesnt mean you wont suddenly ovulate without getting a period first.
As mentioned above, menstruation marks the end of one cycle. If ovulation occurs, and you dont conceive, you will get your period. But lets say you are currently not having regular cycles. You could, depending on the reason why youre not menstruating regularly, suddenly start a menstrual cycle.
The end of your cycle is marked by your period starting, but there are no obvious signs that your body has begun a cycle. You can ovulate and not know it.
You will only know you ovulated if you get your period or, if you had sexual intercourse within your fertile window, you get pregnant. You may not realize youre pregnant for a while, though, since you havent been getting your periods. You wont have a period to be late if you havent been getting one.
No Period After Depo Help Tracking Ovulation
I was on depo for a year . I was due to get my last shot nov 1 but since I am ttc I didn’t go to get it. I never had a period on depo. I had spotting for 2 weeks after stopping but nothing since. If I’m not having a period, can I still ovulate? If I am ovulating how will I know? Please help!!!
Hoping for a Proud Mommy of a beautiful little girl
5 Answers 10 years ago
I was also on DEPO. My period came back to normal after a few months. You may not be ovulating yet. Sometimes it can take a year to get fertility back. However, buy some OPK test strips if you want to find out when you O each month. You can find them in bulk on amazon.com.
Sometimes you may feel pain in your right of left side that may be ovulation. Also, your cervical mucus will be either watery or egg white and slippery.
If you’re serious about starting TCC now I would suggest a pre-conception dr visit. GOOD LUCK AND BABY DUST! 🙂
BABY FEVER!!
I’ve been on the depo and it took me 10 months for my period to come back. You should definitely get some OPK’s. Baby Dust to you!!!
10 years ago
I have been off Depo since November 2010 and I just ovulated for the first time this month!!!!! My cycles started about 6 months after stopping and they were really irregular 🙁 be prepared to be frustrated because that depo is a doozy…. I definitely think it is a good I idea to buy OPK’s and talk to your doctor.
10 years ago
10 years ago
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Can I Become Pregnant After I Stop Using Depo
You can become pregnant after taking Depo-Provera®. You could become pregnant as soon as 12 to 14 weeks after your last shot. It could also take up to a year or two to conceive after stopping this type of contraception. If youre planning on becoming pregnant in the next year, you may not want to start taking the birth control shot.
Remember, you can also become pregnant if you miss a dose of the birth control shot or if its late.
Lets Clear Up Any Misconceptions About Regular Vs Irregular Periods And How They Relate To Ovulation And Fertility
While ovulation and periods naturally go together, it is possible to ovulate without having a period. This often occurs for women with irregular periods. Conversely, it is possible to experience monthly bleeding with no ovulation. However, that bleeding is not a normal period and results from an anovulatory cycle. While this may seem confusing, it becomes clear when you understand how ovulation works.
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When Should You Stop Using Birth Control
Donât stop until youâre ready to get pregnant. Your body doesnât need to time to âclearâ birth control hormones. In fact, itâs possible for you to conceive within a month or two of stopping most types. If you want to go off hormonal birth control but arenât ready to get pregnant, use another method, like condoms, until you are ready.
Getting Pregnant After Depo
As long as you want to prevent pregnancy, you need to receive an injection every 90 days. This is because, after 90 days, the levels of Depo-Provera are not high enough for most women to reliably prevent pregnancy.
Lets say you want to get pregnant and you discontinue injections. You might assume your fertility will return on day 91, but this isnt how the medication works. While the levels of Depo-Provera after 90 days may not be high enough to be considered effective for pregnancy prevention, they may still be too high to get pregnant.
Some women will get pregnant the very first month after the 90 days, but this isnt common. Most women will see their fertility return within 5 to 7 months of their last injection. In other words, about two months after that 90-day period ends.
Within 10 months of the last injection, 50% of women who discontinue Depo-Provera will get pregnant.
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Getting Contraception During Coronavirus
If you need contraception, call your GP surgery or a sexual health clinic as soon as possible. Only go in person if asked to.
It might not be possible to have contraceptive injections at the moment. You may need to use another type of contraception such as condoms or the progestogen-only pill for now.
If you usually do contraceptive injections yourself, you may be able to get a prescription for another 12 months.
Can You Ovulate Without Having A Period
Lets clear up any misconceptions about regular vs. irregular periods and how they relate to ovulation and fertility. While ovulation and periods naturally go together, it is possible to ovulate without having a period. This often occurs for women with irregular periods. Conversely, it is possible to experience monthly bleeding with no ovulation. However, that
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Testosterone And Conception: Things We Dont Know
Itâs important here to pause and think about the people who were not included in this questionnaireâsuch as trans men on testosterone who wanted and tried to become pregnant, but could not. The previous study only focuses on people who actually conceived. We donât know what percentage of people were unable to conceive after stopping testosterone therapy, or if this differs from infertility rates among the cisgender female population. Some researchers warn that some people may not be able to resume ovulation after stopping testosterone use, and this may depend on their age and how long theyve been using testosterone . More research is needed.
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No Periods After Depo
ebbie22 · 30/03/2005 14:52
Has anyone got these answers for my stressed mate… Ive been on depo for 2 years come of it august 04 havnt had a period since and we are desprete for our second baby ……
Titania · 30/03/2005 15:01
my doc said it can take up to a year for periods to return after coming off it.
jbadgirl · 30/03/2005 15:03
I was on depo and it did take a few months to have a period again but as titania says it can take up to a yr. Hope it wont be too much longer for you tho x
ebbie22 · 30/03/2005 15:04
QueenEagle · 30/03/2005 15:13
Ebbie – thanks for that, I wasn’t absolutely sure and didn’t want to expose my ignorance! It is many years since I used it. I came off it in about October 1996 and it caused horrendous problems for me, totally messed up my periods. For 18 months I was bleeding for more days than not. I was told it takes up to 2 years for it to get completely out of your system and I just had to put up with it til it righted itself. I wasn’t trying to conceive at that point so can’t help with your question. I think it’s right though that even if you’re not having periods you are still ovulating.
TinyGang · 30/03/2005 15:18
Does anyone know if depo makes you put on weight? I seem to be heavier since having it. If anyone came off it, did your weight go down again subsequently I have just come off it after about 2-2.5 yrs.
QueenEagle · 30/03/2005 15:21
ebbie22 · 30/03/2005 15:23
HelloMama · 30/03/2005 15:27
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Exercise Or Lack Of Body Fat
You may be an athlete who is neither over- nor underweight . However, its not your weight that really impacts your reproductive cycleits the amount of fat.
Athletes may have a high percentage of muscle and a low percentage of body fat. This can cause their menstrual cycles to be irregular or even stop completely. Excessive exercise can also cause your periods to become irregular or stop.
How Long Does Pregnancy Take After Stopping Depo
If you’re thinking of getting pregnant within the next few months, Depo-Provera is probably not the best birth control option for you. A single shot of Depo-Provera provides three months of protection against pregnancy, so you won’t be able to conceive for at least that longand it could take even more time than that.
“It’s possible to become pregnant after that three-month mark, but it usually takes several additional months for the complete effect of the hormone to dissipate and to begin ovulating and having regular periods again,” says Hilda Hutcherson, M.D., clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Columbia University Medical Center, in New York City.
Remember that everyone’s body is different, and there’s no way to predict when your fertility will return. For some people, it can take more than a year after the last shot to begin having regular periods for others, regular menstruation can happen as soon as four months after the last shot.
That said, the length of time you use the drug has no effect on how long it will take you to get pregnant after you stop using it, according to Depo-Provera’s manufacturer Pfizer. So there’s no need to worry if you just started taking Depo-Provera or if you’ve been getting the shot for years.
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