What You Should Do if Your Cycle is Irregular and You’ve Been Recommended the Pill
Apr 19, 2023
You are finally ready to grow your family yet your cycle is irregular and you don’t know what to do. You’ve gone to your Gynecologist, Obstetrician or Reproductive Endocrinologist and they say your best option is to take the pill. Yup, the birth control pill. If your internal gut feeling starts to set off alarms, this may be a good thing and here is why.
Taking birth control to address an irregular cycle is just masking the underlying problem. However this is an approach we see traditional medicine using all of the time to regulate periods, address heavy cycles and alleviate symptoms of PCOS. We even see them use this to “preserve fertility” for those with low AMH or to reduce pain in those with Endometriosis. But how can you preserve fertility just by masking the symptoms? You can’t.
Our Experience Contradict What Doctors Say
For as long as birth control has existed, women’s experiences have contradicted what doctors say is happening or we “should'' experience. We do not have enough research on the true impacts on hormonal birth control. We don’t have the depth of understanding to give a full story. The reasons women are put on birth control outside of stopping ovulation have a root cause! And truthfully, the things birth control is supposed to be “helping” are often exasperated under the surface due to additional inflammation.
What We Know
Depleting Nutrients
When on the birth control pill, you are not ovulating. When you bleed, it is a chemically induced bleed. Outside of changing your body's natural processes, birth control depletes our nutrients dramatically. This is even known by doctors yet not appropriately communicated. Folate, B6, B12, Zinc, Magnesium and more are zapped when on the pill and it is vital to replenish these before you get pregnant because pregnancy is nutrient demanding.
Decreases Microbial Diversity
The pill also disturbs your gut microbiome and decreases microbial diversity. This predisposes you to gut infections, food sensitivities and additional nutrient deficiencies. This is vital for you to understand because your gut microbiome creates your childs so your gut is their gut and ultimately their immune system for life.
Thins Uterine Lining
Being on the pill contributes to a down regulation of hormone receptors in your endometrial lining and unfortunately when you come off, it doesn't always up regulate again. This directly impacts the ability for a pregnancy to succeed because we need a certain thickness to support the embryo and give it a cozy first home to feel safe and grow. A thin lining does not allow for this.
Causes Infertility
Taking birth control can lead to infertility because of the amount of inflammation it causes in our bodies in addition to these other obstacles it adds to your experience. Inflammation is a leading cause of infertility and it can take months, up to 18 months for your body to heal from the inflammation caused by the pill and finally allow your body to have a healthy pregnancy.
Dig Deeper
We know this information likely contradicts what doctors have told you, so don’t just take our word for it. Hear from Dr. Jolene Brighton, a Functional Medicine Naturopathic Medical Doctor and the founder of Rubus Health and author of Sweetening the Pill: Or How We Got Hooked On Hormonal Birth Control, Holly Grigg-Spall in these podcast episodes:
Want to get pregnant this year? Grab your copy of the Ultimate Guide To Getting Pregnant This Year With Low AMH/High FSH.
