How to Support Your Fertility After Coming Off Hormonal Birth Control
If you are a woman that's thinking about coming off hormonal birth control, or recently came off, and you want to conceive -- there are steps you should take to prepare your body for a healthy conception and pregnancy to support your body's natural hormonal communication system.
You want to make your transition off birth control less symptomatic as possible. Long-term use of birth control can affect your body in many ways. And, oftentimes you don't know how or to what extent birth control has affected your body until coming off.
I have seen this so many times when working 1:1 with women!
Below, I'll be sharing with you proven and impactful ways to support your hormones and fertility, post birth control.
1. Support Your Body Nutrient Stores, Replenish Lost Nutrients!
Birth control depletes your body of several B vitamins (riboflavin, B6, B12, and folate), vitamin C, magnesium, vitamin E and zinc. Deficiencies in these nutrients can contribute to hormone imbalance, poor egg quality, disturbances in ovulation and delayed conception. Start supplementing with a quality prenatal. Purchase the Prenatal & Beyond multivitamins from the apothecary.
Make sure you eat a whole food, nutrient dense diet. Incorporate high quality protein, carbs and fat every time you eat. Some of the most nutrient dense foods for fertility are: quality protein and meat, collagen, eggs, bone broths, fruit and veggies.
2. Support Your Liver and Do an Herbal Cleanse!
Your liver is relied upon to detoxify synthetic hormones and toxins to get them ready to be excreted, to convert certain nutrients and hormones into it's active form, balance your blood sugar levels, and support your immune system. This means that your liver, with its steady stream of synthetic hormones coming in from birth control, can be pretty "stressed out".
Support your liver by eating foods like cruciferous vegetables, lemon, carrots, beets, high quality protein, healthy fats and by taking my cleansing herbs from the apothecary. Minimize stress to the liver, this means limiting alcohol, switching to organic animal products and produce, filtering your water and cleaning up the products you cook with and put on your body.
I start all of my fertility clients with my 30-Day Cleanse Health Program.
3. Support Your Gut Health, Nourish Your Gut Biome!
Hormonal birth control can affect your overall gut health, which contributes to fertility challenges. Your gut is truly at the center of all of your body's inner workings. Optimal gut function is needed to make sure you're properly digesting and absorbing nutrients for building hormones, and for proper microbiome and immune system function. Make sure you manage stress as well, because this can greatly impair your digestion.
Chew your food properly, avoid foods that irritate your gut and consider adding more probiotic and prebiotic rich foods, enzymes, bitters, apple cider vinegar and lemon to help your digestion. For good herbal therapy, you can purchase Digestion Tea or Gut Health Support.
4. Support Your Adrenal Glands!
Hormonal birth control, the pill specifically, is one of many factors that can contribute to HPA dysfunction and the symptoms associated with it. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is the mechanism by which your body regulates your cortisol output. It's how your adrenal and brain talks and it is affected by inflammation caused by birth control. Overtime this type of disruption is whats commonly known as "adrenal fatigue".
So when coming off of birth control you're probably going to need to support your adrenal health. The best thing you can do is to eat regular meals, eat enough carbs and avoid excessive fasting and take Adrenal Support. Other things to consider are lower caffeine consumption, limit cardio, meditate and spend time in nature or doing things you love.
If you’re wanting to get off birth control (or you're already off) and you want to try for a baby, enhance your fertility and get your body prepped with my 30-Day Cleanse Program. This is the holisitc healing protocol I start ALL of my 1:1 fertility clients with.
If you’re wanting to get off birth control and are looking for alternative forms of birth control, consider the Fertility Awareness Method.
Want to work 1:1? Book your FREE 30-minute Health Discovery Call.
Consider also joining my Well Woman Nutrition & Wellness Monthyl Membership.
Love and health,
Shavonne