Does birth control really lead to infertility

Question

While conspiracies that being on the pill long term can lead to infertility have been swirling around. Doctors have stated that this is in fact false. Saying that the pill can actually be protective by suppressing certain issues like endometriosis or balancing out hormones.

Comments

According to Healthline.com, birth control doesn't cause infertility, as fertility typically returns shortly after stopping use. The use of birth control and infertility are two different stages in the conceiving/protecting portions of a woman's health as well as the fetus. You've done a great job selecting this important topic, as it helps dispel common myths and provides clarity on reproductive health. Well done!

Answer 1

According to clevlandclinic.org, Dr.Cremer explains, “But hormonal birth control does not affect your fertility.” He says this after evaluating and asking many patients about certain symptoms or affects they may have. He does also mention although Birth Control may not lead into fertility, it can affect your fertility but hiding other kinds of issues as far as irregular periods and symptoms of PCOS and endometriosis while on Birth control prior to already having it. 

Does Birth Control Impact Your Fertility? (clevelandclinic.org)

Comments

I think there’s a bit of confusion here in how Dr. Cremer's statement is framed. Saying hormonal birth control "does not affect your fertility" can easily be misunderstood as birth control having no long-term consequences, but what Dr. Cremer seems to be highlighting is that birth control doesn’t cause infertility it doesn’t permanently impair the body’s ability to conceive. I enjoyed how you used a very creditable source as Cleveland clinic because they do a lot of solid research regarding health benefits and research.

Answer 2

Birth Control does not lead to infertility, and may have some benefits in preserving Women's hormone cycle's long-term stability. 

“Our study, similar to previous ones, found that fertility is slightly reduced during the first few menstrual cycles after stopping oral contraceptives, but after that, monthly fertility rates are comparable to those of women stopping other methods of contraception.”

"Also, she said, the results suggest that long-term OC use “is not detrimental, and that fertility may actually improve with more years of use.”"

https://www.bu.edu/sph/news/articles/2013/long-term-oral-contraceptive-use-doesnt-hurt-fertility-study-finds/

Answer 3

The claim made my BU School of Public Health that, “Long-term Oral Contraceptive Use Doesn’t Hurt Fertility” is true. The academic journal that this article references, (Oxford Academic) also includes the same claim, along with further information about the study. I was able to find a few other reliable sources such as, Beaufort Memorial Hospital. In this article, OBGYN Dr. Tiffany Bersani explains, “The hormones in the pill only stay in your body a short time, which is why you need to take one every day for the pill to be effective. So once you stop, you should return to your normal cycle, and your ability to get pregnant, within a few months,” says Dr. Tiffany Bersani, an OBGYN with Beaufort Memorial Obstetrics & Gynecology Specialists in Beaufort and Okatie.(https://www.bmhsc.org/blog/does-birth-control-affect-fertility-long-term)

Answer 4

This appears to be a reliable source, coming from the Boston University School of Public Health, a recognized institution for research and education. This article also directly references a study published in the Human Reproduction academic journal, a peer reviewed scientific source published by Oxford University Press. 

I cross-checked this information with a 2020 study by The BMJ, a peer reviewed medical journal published by the British Medical Association. This study surveyed more than 17,000 women trying to conceive by investigating their contraceptive histories. The conclusion of this research found that there are varying delays in reproductivity after stopping the use of contraceptives based on which method, such as the pill, intrauterine devices, depo-provera shot and the implant. The IUD had the shortest delay in returning to full fertility, and the injectable contraceptives took the longest. However, despite the variation in delays, they concluded that none of these long-term methods "appear[ed] to be detrimental to fertility" and the study "indicate[d] little or no lasting effect of long term use of these methods on fecundability." 

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m3966

Answer 5

According to Elizabeth Hatch, BUSPH professor of epidemiology, studies show that "fertility is slightly reduced during the first few menstrual cycles after stopping oral contraceptives, but after that, monthly fertility rates are comparable to those of women stopping other methods of contraception", confirming the claim that birth control is not directly correlated to infertility. Furthermore, the BU School of Public Health even mentions a study conducted alongside the University of Aarhus in Denmark, which suggests that women using oral contraceptives for longer periods of time, like four or five years, actually had improved chances of fertility compared to women who only used oral contraceptives for a short period of time.

After further research and cross-checking, according to Piedmont Hospital's article, "Do Birth Control Pills Lead to Infertility?", physicians explain that oral contraceptives do not directly cause infertility, and in many cases can even be protective against infertility by battling issues like endometriosis. Additionally, "male factors cause one-third of infertility", so it is unrealistic that oral contraceptives are to blame for infertility when in 20% of cases, "it is both partners" causing the infertility.

https://www.bu.edu/sph/news/articles/2013/long-term-oral-contraceptive-use-doesnt-hurt-fertility-study-finds/

https://www.piedmont.org/living-real-change/do-birth-control-pills-lead-to-infertility-(plus-other-infertility-facts-and-myths)#:~:text=FACT%3A%20Being%20on%20the%20pill,a%20role%20in%20balancing%20hormones.