Women who have tried to conceive using in vitro fertilization (IVF) methods are painfully aware that timing is of the essence. There are cancelled vacations, too many sick days taken from work, and the necessity to plan everything around “the treatment.”
But thanks to a Tel Aviv University study, trying for a baby has just been made easier. In a surprising finding, researchers have discovered that the same pill used to prevent pregnancy can actually help a woman conceive.
Dr. Haim Pinkas MD, a senior physician at the Rabin Medical Center and an academic staff member of Tel Aviv University’s Sackler School of Medicine, and his colleagues at the infertility center where he practices, have found that a two-week intervention treatment using a standard low-dose birth control pill can help time egg harvesting, making the IVF process more convenient for both doctor and patient.
The study was done on 1,800 women at the Infertility and IVF Unit, Helen Schneider Hospital for Women, Rabin Medical Center, Petach Tikva and appeared in the Journal of Assisted Reproduction & Genetics in January of this year.
All in the Timing
According to the American Fertility Association, more than 15% of American couples have difficulty conceiving a child. There are currently two types of therapy — natural methods and assisted reproductive techniques such as IVF. In many cases, IVF offers the last hope to conceive a child.
Convenience is a factor that contributes to a woman’s general peace of mind and health. But from a clinician’s point of view, the ability to time the IVF process is also crucial.
Dr. Pinkas explains, “One of the main drawbacks in treating infertility is timing a woman’s body with the clinic’s schedule, so we can get as many mature eggs as possible. IVF clinics can be extremely busy. With a proven and safe method for timing when a woman can undergo therapy, there is a lot less stress placed on the physicians’ shoulders too.”
Normally doctors start the IVF treatment from the moment a woman gets her period. But the use of birth control pills, for 10-14 days after a period, allows the treatment to be adjusted without compromising the “ovarian response to stimulation,” says Dr. Pinkas. This way, egg-harvesting can fall on a date mutually convenient to both the clinician and patient.
Study Is Unique and Broad
This study is not the first to investigate the use of the pill in IVF, but it is the largest one performed so far. It is also unique in that it placed an emphasis on the impact of a patient’s age, her ovarian response, the characteristics of her cycle, and the final outcome – a birth.
The bottom line is that the treatment gives a woman comfort without compromising her chances to conceive. Dr. Pinkas says, “The IVF process can be very stressful. Adding to that stress is the timing issue. Women need to be able to get on with their lives. This treatment makes it possible.”
And while old wives’ tales persist about days of the month when women can conceive, Dr. Pinkas says it is bunk. “The timing of ovulation for different women is spaced out evenly throughout the year. We can schedule a woman’s ovulation with contraceptive pills, but not with the moon.”
I want to have a baby so bad so im taken myself off the depo shot they say it takes up to 4 to 10 months after you get off the depo this is the forth month for me im suppose to get my shot sometime this month but im not due to i want to have a baby so im asking god to please be with me and please wish me luck i want this baby so bad i already have one child his father has two other chlidern but he does not be around his siblings like he should so i would want a baby so they can play together and he want get to baord by him self so please pray for me
hi my name is kaleigh and im 22 years old.me and my husband have been maried for 4 years and we have been trying for about 2 years and.i have irreglar but we dont use conception andi had not got pergnant.i have never been on orth but about 4/1 i was on the depo and from then iv never been no nothing else.but if some one help me thanks kaleigh
Food full of vitamin-c can do wonders. Take lots and lots citrus fruits, vegetables like cabbage, drunkstick, tomoto etc. and greens. Also regular check up with doctor can lead to the path of happiness. There may be infection in the uterus, so you should take herball medicines to remove them. Best of luck.
My husband (30) and I (34) have been together for 6 yrs and married for 1 1/2. About 4 months into our dating I got pregnant and due to bad timing we chose not to have the baby. At this time, my daughter was only 16 months old and I was not on birth control but decided to get the IUD after. About 4 years ago I decided to go off of the IUD because we knew how long it may take to get pregnant. No such luck yet. We both went to the doctor to have sperm count and to check my ovaries…still nothing. We know we can have children as stated above and we both have a child from previous relationships, we just want at least one together. I’ve heard that the birth control pill works as long as you only take it for no more than 2 weeks. I’ve got a Dr appt today so we’ll try this method and I’ll keep you posted
I think it works I been on ortho tri cyclon lo for 2 months and I reently tried concieving..imma gonna give myself 3 weeks and see if I have my miracle wish me luck guys!
hi,this might help. I’m a 33 yr old women, i have four kids. I noticed right before i got prego, i was on some type of birth controll pill, patch, or depo shot. When i stop taking it, i got prego right away. I also notice when i’m not on anything nothing happens, i hope it’s helpful. Good luck.
Hello I am 31 years old. I have tried for over ten years to get pregnant and could not. I got a divorce and got married again and in one year I got pregnant I lost the baby at 7 and 1/2 weeks. The doctors didnt know why they just told me it would be easy to get preg again. Its been a year next month and Im still not preg. Im gonna try the birth control pills for 2 weeks. Please wish me luck and I wish everyone here luck.
I was on birth control for 3 year an then me an my husband wanted to have a baby so I took myself off of it. It’s been 4 years now. I got pregnant about a year ago but have not had any luck sence.
Me and my husband have been married for over two years now and I just turned 31 years old We want to have a child but everything we try just don’t seem to work. My husband has a daughter from his first marriage and I would love to be able to share a child with him that is part me and part him can anybody help me.
hi there, im married for a year for a year now and trying to fall pregnant. i have never been on the pill, what can be the problem????? or should i just wait and see??
me and my husband trying to conceived for over a year. my period is be irregaly am in prenatal care for 2 months no luck i need help i desperately need a baby ill do anything jus to have a baby i need help.i wanted to take birth control pills but the doctor say if i take the pills it will make me take longer to conceive any advice i need help
am taking folic acid and natele right about now
im was on birth control for a little but it made me have a period for 8 weeks withiut stoping could thats make me infertile .cuz now my period is irregular now so i dont know when im ovulation and me and my boyfriend is trying to have a baby what could i do cuz i dont want to go back on birth control and have the same thing happen again.. can some one help me plz
I have PCOS and I was kind of scared to get married and have kids, I guess I got paranoid after watching John An Kate plus 8, by the way, John is a douche bag, woman rule! Any who, I was also scared of the fact I might have alot of kids, but I also was scared about finding a soul mate who loved me enough to go through the process. It’s not often you find a man who’s willing to go through that process with you, not only that, be willing to pay for it to. IVF treatment is not exactly cheap it costs about $12,000 but can go as high as $15,000, or as low as $10,000. Also, you see how many kids she ended up having, I mean I respect her strength and courage, it is not an easy task raising eight kids on your own, but I don’t want that many children. I kind of figured though, I remember one time, I think it was last year actually, I was off my Yaz for a month, and then boom, I had a period, and it’s weird, even people who don’t have PCOS or are infertile get pregnant! My mom after her first marriage, she was on birth control for 13 years, she started taking it in 1970, because her and my dad got married on October 1, 1983 and she got pregnant automatically, and a year later, had my oldest sister Michelle, I’m happy, that I’m on birth control, my OBGYN put me on it because of my PCOS, but I can still get pregnant, and I want to, my sister Jessica is a buffoon, she’s scared, she doesn’t want have anymore kids for now, but she’s scared to go on birth control because some of her friends claim it’s harder to get pregnant, whatever, well they actually said that’s what they’ve heard, but if you don’t know the facts people, don’t give out the data, because it could be the wrong information.
That’s all very interesting stuff, Specially for couples trying to have a baby. However it’s not always the womens fault. In cases where the blame lies on the man I reccomend sperm pills. Yes you heard me correcly. Spermomax is a pill that increases male fertility.
this was very helpfull thanks
I have been searching for proof. I have PCOS and got pregnant in 2003 after taking Yaz for 2 weeks then going off. It has been 6 years and we haven’t been able to concieve. Then in October 2009 I started back on Ocella to treat my raging hormones, I hated it because it made me feel weird so I only took it for 1 month. We just found out we are expecting again
Weird timing…maybe…but my OB happens to think that might be caused from the BC.?????
I NEED NOCKED UP AND QUICK!….IV TRYED EVERY THING!..ENY IDEIA’S?
This is very interesting. Taking a pill to get pregnant. If you want to get pregnant naturally, I highly recommend giving this article a look. trying to get pregnant quickly
me and me boyfriend have been trying to get pregnant for a while now and nothing is happening. So im on birth control now i took it for two weeks now and i stopped after that. I hope i become pregnant! Do you think it will work? I hope!!
i actually beleive this. w/out birth control im like a boy (no periods, no ovulation) before i got married i wasnt having periods. id started periods at 17 but then they stopped & i’d have a light one like once or twice a yr (not kidding). i never used protection during sex & never got pregnant. then before my wedding, my doctor said i should still take birth control just in case, so i started taking it. i was on it for about 2 weeks (the nuva ring) then took it out cuz my hubby & i were suddenly wanting a baby & thought even w/out birth control, all odds were against us cuz ive always been so infertile. lo and behold, 1 1/2weeks after taking out nuva ring, i was prego. birth control has hormones that can make you fertile but then taking it for a while, regularily, and as prescribed, it will then block ovulation. but if you take it wrong, it could have the opposite effect. as said Above, its all about the TIMING
Me and my boyfriend being together for a year but was friends ten years now we r want to have a baby but my periods are irregular but we don’t use any conception for a year and I had not got pregnant so can yall help me!
I am 30 years old and i have been trying to get pregnant since i was 22 years old and no matter what i do i cann’t can some one tell me what can i do please really need your help
just business, what a shame!
How much do they cost and where can you find them at.
same as here,my husband n i we try to have a baby for like 4 years now n still dnt work!! will you help me?!!!