Birth Control: does it affect my future fertility?

The short (and much awaited) answer is no - while some women experience a delay in resuming ovulation and normal menses following extended hormonal birth control use, there is no evidence that suggests a decline in overall fertility. Phew!

However, it’s important to be mindful that by using hormonal birth control, you may be masking symptoms of other pre-existing conditions that could contribute to infertility such as PCOS and endometriosis.

On the flip side, birth control also does not prolong your future fertility. Women are born with all of the eggs they will ever have and through a process called atresia, lose about 1,000 eggs per month during their reproductive years – regardless of if they’re ovulating, on birth control, or pregnant.