Scared to come off birth control because you don’t want to get pregnant?  

Don’t worry, you aren’t alone. This was my biggest fear when I wanted to stop taking birth control due to the terrible side effects I was dealing with. 

I stayed on the pill for over 12 years for this reason and then switched to the IUD for 3 more because I thought it might lead to less side effects.  

I was wrong…that just made things worse. 

But I was so tired of dealing with the nagging fatigue, migraines, anxiety, brain fog, and insomnia, that I knew I had to come off and figure out a new strategy to prevent pregnancy. 

That’s when it hit me  – I could use the same tactics women use to determine the best time to try to for a baby.

If I could determine my fertile window, then I would know exactly when to be more careful.  

And you know what? It’s worked beautifully. I’ve been off birth control for many years now and have successfully avoided pregnancy the entire time. 

And it’s possible for you too. 

Here’s how it works:

Step 1: Track Your Cycle with a Basal Thermometer 

Your body temperature changes throughout the month as your hormone levels are changing. After ovulation, your body temperature rises slightly, which means you’re outside your fertile window and can safely avoid pregnancy without worry.  

The fertile window is a 6-day period that starts 5 days before you ovulate and then includes the day of ovulation at the end. 

Our cervical mucus can keep sperm alive those five days until the day of ovulation; that’s why you want to be more mindful those days. 

These are the only 6 days per month that you can get pregnant. For the rest of the month, it is biologically impossible to get pregnant. 

Not everyone ovulates on day 14. Some ovulate way sooner and some later. So it’s important to get the data on yourself so you know your unique pattern. 

Taking your temperature every morning upon waking will show you patterns in your own body so you can determine your window. 

There are a lot of basal thermometers out there. My preference is the one by Natural Cycles because they are the only FDA-approved birth control app. That’s right – just by taking your temperature. 

Talk about peace of mind!

Step 2: Use Ovulation Strips to Determine Exactly When You Ovulate

Ovulation strips will help you dial in your fertile window even more. 

You only need to use these as you close in on your predicted ovulation date, so you usually only need to use these a handful each month. 

All you have to do is stick the tip of the strip into a little bit of your urine, and within just a minute or two, you’ll find out if you’re close to ovulating or not. 

I really like these ovulation test strips from Easy@Home. And you can get them on Amazon.

This two-step strategy is what I’ve been using for years and led to a number of benefits:

1. I don’t have to take synthetic hormones to prevent pregnancy.
2. I don’t have to deal with side effects from these synthetic hormones. 
3. I’m empowered every day because I know exactly where in my cycle and know how my body is responding all month long. 

If you’ve been wanting to come off birth control and have been concerned about the possibility of getting pregnant – did my strategy help ease some of those fears?

Email me and let me know! 

Kim