Birth control pills to regulate period and get pregnant

Q: What is the best way to get pregnant with irregular periods?

If youre ovulating, you have the ability to get pregnant, but if you have irregular periods, your chances for pregnancy may be more limited than a woman with regular periods. The most important thing is to have regular unprotected sex. Aim to have intercourse at least every two to three days.

People who take oral contraceptives, or birth control pills, generally don’t ovulate. During a typical 28-day menstrual cycle, ovulation occurs approximately two weeks before the start of the next period. But cycles can vary widely. In reality, it usually takes place somewhere near the midpoint of your cycle, give or take about four days.

Table of Contents Show

What’s inside the pill?
Period regulation
Menstrual pain management
An important note
Bottom line
Can birth control pills help get you pregnant?
What is the best way to get pregnant with irregular periods?
How long should I take birth control to regulate my period?
Would birth control help regularize period?

Ovulation is the process in which your ovary releases a mature egg. This is important to track while trying to conceive. During ovulation, the egg can be fertilized by sperm for 12 to 24 hours after it’s released. Sperm can also live inside your body for up to five days.

When taken every day at the same time of day, birth control pills are most effective at regulating your menstrual cycle.

Combination birth control pills contain estrogen and progesterone and help to prevent ovulation. Without ovulation, there’s no egg to be fertilized. The hormones also help thicken cervical mucus, making it harder for sperm to get into your uterus.

The progesterone-only pill, or minipill, helps to prevent pregnancy by:

thickening cervical mucus
thinning the lining of the uterus
suppressing ovulation

However, it doesn’t consistently suppress ovulation as the combination pill does. To be most effective, the minipill should be taken at the same time every day.

Use a backup birth control method for at least the first week of using the pill. Talk with your doctor about what precautions are necessary when starting the pill, to be on the safe side.

Up to 13 out of 100 women on the minipill become pregnant. The minipill isn’t as effective as the combination pill in helping to prevent pregnancy.

With the combination pill, approximately 9 out of 100 women using it will have an accidental pregnancy. When taking the pill, its effectiveness can depend on:

whether it’s taken every day around the same time
other medications or supplements you might be taking
certain medical conditions that interfere with the medication

The pill doesn’t protect against sexually transmitted infections, so it’s still important to use barrier methods like condoms to help reduce your risk for these infections. You should also see a gynecologist regularly for your pelvic exam.

The pill is one method of hormonal birth control that helps to prevent pregnancy. Because of the hormones that alter your menstrual cycle, you don’t ovulate on the combination pill if it’s taken properly. There’s some suppression of ovulation while on the minipill, but it’s not as consistent and it’s still possible or even likely to ovulate on that pill.

The pill might not be right for everyone, especially if you aren’t good at remembering to take medications or if it might be hard for you to commit to taking it every day around the same time. Talk with your doctor about your birth control needs, medications and supplements you’re taking, and whether the pill might be a good contraceptive choice for you.

What’s inside the pill?

There are two main types of contraceptive pills: combined oral contraceptives (COCs) and so-called progestogen-only pills, or POPs (these also used to be called minipills). Both types contain synthetic analogs of female sex hormones. COCs have both synthetic estrogens and synthetic forms of progesterone (progestogens), while the POPs contain progestogens alone.

Female sex hormones influence the body at different levels. That’s why, apart from preventing unintended pregnancy, birth control pills can treat hormonal imbalance or mitigate symptoms related to the menstrual cycle.

Period regulation

Strictly speaking, if you are taking hormonal contraceptives, you don’t have periods. Instead, there are two different kinds of period-like bleeding that can happen.

Withdrawal bleeding is common among those who use COCs. It occurs when you take a scheduled break, stop taking pills at all, or take placebo pills for 7 days. This type of bleeding is easiest to control. It’s called withdrawal bleeding because it is induced by the withdrawal of the hormones during the break.

The other form of bleeding is called breakthrough bleeding. The name comes from the fact that the bleeding occurs while taking the pill. It happens when the inner lining of the uterus does not get enough hormones to remain stable and starts bleeding.

However, it’s not a sign of anything going wrong — just a sign that the inner lining has to adapt to the hormones.

Breakthrough bleeding is more typical for POP users because it is taken continuously without a break. It’s irregular by nature, which is why POPs are not the best choice if you want to be in control of your bleeding. Breakthrough bleeding may also occur if you miss a COC pill.

If you are having irregular periods, your doctor may prescribe you COCs to treat this condition. By releasing the right amounts of the right hormones at the right times into your bloodstream, these pills create a “hormonal contraceptive cycle” in your body. This is similar to a natural menstrual cycle, but it can be much more regular and predictable for some people.

From a medical point of view, it’s not necessary to have withdrawal bleeding every 28 days, as many contraceptive regimens suggest. In fact, it’s possible to take COCs every day with a short break every 3 months or even less often. People who do this have breakthrough period-like bleeding 4 times a year or less, on schedule.

Menstrual pain management

Painful menstrual cramps are another problem that combined oral contraceptives can solve. To understand how it works, you need to know what prostaglandins are.

This mechanism is important for your reproductive health, but strong contractions can be painful. Prostaglandins also constrict blood vessels, which causes oxygen shortage in the tissues and, consequently, pain. Combined oral contraceptives address both these mechanisms. They provide relief by decreasing the amount of prostaglandins produced in the uterus, thus making the uterine contractions weaker.

An important note

Although all hormonal contraceptives contain synthetic sex hormones, they may act slightly differently. This is because there are many variations of these synthetic hormones, and their doses can be distributed differently among the pills in one pack (monophasic, biphasic, and triphasic).

Different combinations will be the best option for different cases. That’s why it’s important that the treatment regimen is prescribed by a doctor, so that the chosen pill meets the patient’s specific needs and situation. For example, someone who has skin problems like acne would probably be prescribed different birth control than someone who has mood symptoms during their premenstrual phase.

The same is true for hormonal IUDs, patches, shots, vaginal rings, and implants. Please consult a doctor to choose a contraceptive option that will be optimal for your body, especially if you want it to relieve any symptoms.

Bottom line

There are combined oral contraceptives approved for period regulation and period pain management. They can reduce your cramps and help you control your period-like bleeding. Just remember to consult your doctor about which pill is optimal for you.

Content created in association with EBCOG, the European Board & College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

Updated on February 3, 2022

Can birth control pills help get you pregnant?

75.4% of the women who had been on the pill for more than five years conceived within six months of trying compared to 70.5% of women who had never used the pill. A similar advantage was found among long-term pill users who took up to a year to become pregnant compared to non-users (89.5% vs. 85.4%).

What is the best way to get pregnant with irregular periods?

If you're ovulating, you have the ability to get pregnant, but if you have irregular periods, your chances for pregnancy may be more limited than a woman with regular periods. The most important thing is to have regular unprotected sex. Aim to have intercourse at least every two to three days.

How long should I take birth control to regulate my period?

For some women, birth control can serve as a temporary fix for irregular periods. Health care providers might suggest three to six months on a combination birth control regimen, allowing enough time for the medication to restore the balance of hormones in the body.

Would birth control help regularize period?

Birth control pills can be an effective way to regulate periods. But the only way to find out what's causing your irregular periods (and to see if treatment is needed) is to visit your doctor. Note: The Pill does not protect you from STDs. So, if you do have sex, be sure to use a condom every time.