Title: Trouble Recovering After Using Birth Control Word Count: 555 Summary: Birth control pills are among the most commonly used pharmaceutical contraceptives out there, though sometimes, a woman will stop taking them because she's finally decided to have children. There is normally no problem with this, aside from the usual three months it takes for the body to get back to the normal ovulation cycle. However, for some women, this does not occur normally and that might be a sign of a serious fertility problem. Keywords: birth control Article Body: People who use birth control can generally be categorized into two different types. There are the ones that are using because they don't want a child at the moment for a variety of reasons, and the ones that don't want children at all. Permanent birth control options are available for the latter group of people, but the former group has a significantly wider range of methods to choose from. Among these methods would be the ever-popular use of the birth control pill, though this poses a mild problem should the women ever want to actually have children. In essence, “the pill” works by altering hormone levels in the woman's body to make it believe that the woman is already pregnant. This has the effect of interrupting the typical menstrual cycle and preventing the ovaries from releasing the egg cell, which in turn prevents conception. There are a few side effects that can be linked to these hormonal alterations, but in general, the consensus is that they work fine. However, what exactly happens to the body once a woman stops using birth control pills? Most women are aware of what “the pill” does and have some vague notion of how it works, but generally lack any concrete idea of what happens when they stop taking it. Even if a woman wants to have children and has quit from the pill, there are still a few things that need to be checked and kept in mind. First and foremost, using pills really changes a woman's hormonal make-up. These hormonal changes delay the completion of the woman's ovulation cycle. Each pill taken increases the duration of the delay, naturally. The body is basically forced to adjust by the effect of synthetic hormones that the pills trigger, putting off the risk of pregnancy by fooling the body into believing it already is pregnant. If a woman stops taking the pill, the body will need time to readjust to the situation and, basically, pick the ovulation cycle up where it left off. After pregnancy, hormone levels drop off and the body returns to normal, with the same principle applying when a woman stops using birth control. Usually, it takes about three months for the body to get back to its natural rhythm and fully recover from the pills. However, there are some cases where this does not happen and the body remains, for lack of a better word, sterile. Some companies have developed hormonal treatments to correct this, which are meant to kick start the process of ovulation that contraceptive pills have stalled. In this case, it really boils down to little more than hormone levels and knowing which hormones to tweak (and how much) to achieve the desired effect in the body. It should be noted, though, that these hormone medications do not always work. In cases where it has taken more than three months for the body to get back to normal hormone production, it may be prudent to consult a medical professional. While considered unlikely, it is possible that long-term use of birth control pills can disrupt the natural hormone-production process for women, even after the drug is no longer used. As stated, there are hormonal pharmaceuticals that can help the body start correcting this problem, but these should only be taken if advised by a doctor.