About 40% of women are able to conceive within a month of going off birth control pills; however, for some women, the wait is much longer.
Some women deal with health issues (such as endometriosis or PCOS) that can cause fertility issues, but others simply don’t return to regular cycles for months after stopping the pill. These women often have what’s called post-pill syndrome (or post-pill amenorrhea).
While the synthetic hormones from the pill leave your body after 2-3 days, it can take a while for your body to begin producing its own hormones again. One article explains:
Birth control pills contain both estrogen and progesterone, so they continue to feed your body these hormones on a daily basis, which raises the levels of both estrogen and progesterone in your blood. Because these levels are so high, your body sends negative feedback to your pituitary gland to stop producing the Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) and Luteinizing Hormone (LH) – both of which are normally present in a regular cycle.
To continue reading more about post-pill syndrome, click here.