Contraceptive methods and fertility

Coming off contraception is one of the first things you need to do if you're planning on getting pregnant.

The type of birth control you use will affect how long it takes for your fertility to return to normal.

Non-hormonal contraceptives

Stopping some methods will mean you can get pregnant straight away. These are non-hormonal and include:

• condoms
• diaphragms or caps
• copper coils

Hormonal contraceptives

Other contraception methods work by changing the levels of certain hormones in your body. These are known as hormonal contraceptives.

These can affect the length of time it takes for your fertility to return to normal.

Hormonal contraceptives include:

• the 'pill' (the combined oral contraceptive pill)
• the vaginal ring
• contraceptive patch
• the mini-pill (or progesterone-only pill)
• intrauterine system (IUS)
• contraceptive implant
• contraceptive injection

Hormonal contraceptives are reversible. This means that after stopping them, your fertility will return to normal.

Irreversible and hard to reverse methods

Other types of contraception include tubal ligation or vasectomy. It is not easy to become pregnant after these procedures.

Related topic

Sex when trying to get pregnant