The study led by German researchers showed that
neither the length of time the pill was taken nor the type of
hormones used had an affect on pregnancy rates.
In the European Active Surveillance Study on Oral
Contraceptives, the researchers followed 60,000 European women
for five years.
Among them, 2064 admitted that they stopped using the pill
because they wanted to become pregnant.
The findings revealed that 21 per cent became pregnant one cycle
after stopping contraceptive use.
After three cycles, the rate of pregnancy had increased to 45.7
per cent, and at one year (13 cycles) 79.4 per cent were
pregnant.
On the other hand, one in five women who did not conceived in
the first 12 months, 45 per cent did so in the second year (26
cycles) after stopping the pill, giving an overall success rate
of 88.3 per cent.
However, researchers from Bayer Schering Pharma and ZEG-Centre for
Epidemiology and Health Research in Berlin did admit that women who had been
using the pill for a long time did have a slightly lower rate of pregnancy
than those who had used it for a short period, but this was due to the
effect of age, not long-term contraceptive use.
The rates of pregnancy were reduced in women older than 35 and in smokers.
"Because of their high efficacy, there is a perception by some women that
the use of oral contraceptives may be associated with an impairment in
fertility after their discontinuation," the NZPA quoted the researchers as
saying.
"These findings suggest that previous oral contraceptive use does not
negatively affect the rate of pregnancy," they added.
The findings of the study have been published in the US journal Obstetrics
and Gynecology.
