Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsPills and OvulationCombination PillsProgestin-Only PillsOvulating on the PillFAQ

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Pills and Ovulation

Combination Pills

Progestin-Only Pills

Ovulating on the Pill

FAQ

You generally won’t ovulate when you’re on the pill, especially if you’re takingcombination birth control pillscontaining estrogen and progestin.

The hormones in the pill stop you from ovulating, which is what makes them effective birth control methods. If there is no egg released, there is nothing for sperm to fertilize and, therefore, no pregnancy.

An illustration with information about “do you ovulate on birth control pills?"

The key to stopping ovulation with birth control pills is proper use.Understanding how each type of pill works can help you gain a better understanding of your fertility.

This article discusses how different types of birth control pills affect ovulation.

How Birth Control Affects Ovulation

If you aren’t using hormonal birth control, ovulation usually happens mid-cycle, or around 14 days before your menstrual period.

Sperm can live for three to five days in a woman’s reproductive organs and an egg lives for 12 to 24 hours after ovulation. So you are most likely to get pregnant if you have sex in the two to three days before or on the day of ovulation.

If youareusing hormonal birth control, that changes the scenario. Generally speaking, hormonal birth control sends messages to your brain saying you’ve already ovulated. This stops ovulation from occurring. The way in which this works depends on the method of birth control you are using.

You won’t lose eggs if you’re on hormonal birth control. The hormones in the birth control tell your brain that you’ve already ovulated. This stops your body from releasing an egg, which prevents pregnancy.

Combination Birth Control Pills and Ovulation

During a natural menstrual cycle, when you’re not using hormonal birth control, levels of the hormones estrogen and progesterone rise and fall. These hormones communicate with thepituitary gland, which controls ovulation.

If you use combination birth control pills, the hormone levels remain fairly steady throughout your cycle. This tells the pituitary gland that ovulation is not necessary.

Cycle Syncing: How to Attune to Each Menstrual Phase

Progestin-Only Birth Control Pills and Ovulation

When You Might Ovulate on the Pill

If you do not take your birth control pill every day at the same time, there may not be enough hormones in your body and ovulation may occur. The risk of ovulation increases if youmiss more than one pillin a row.

As mentioned, ovulation is possible if using the mini-pill, but the egg will not become fertilized with proper pill use.

You won’t know if you are ovulating unless you test forluteinizing hormone. Rising levels of this hormone tell the ovary to release the egg. Estrogens and progesterone in birth control pills lower the amount of this hormone.

An Overview of Birth Control

Summary

Combination birth control pills that contain estrogen and progestin keep your body from ovulating. Since there’s no egg for the sperm to fertilize, this method prevents pregnancy.

The combination birth control pill keeps hormone levels steady in your body to send a message to your brain that you’ve already ovulated.

Frequently Asked Questions

Fertility returns quickly once you’re no longer taking hormone birth control pills. On average, women begin menstruation within 32 days of stopping the pill, so ovulation may begin as early as two weeks after stopping your contraception.Learn MoreWhat to Expect When You Stop Birth Control

Fertility returns quickly once you’re no longer taking hormone birth control pills. On average, women begin menstruation within 32 days of stopping the pill, so ovulation may begin as early as two weeks after stopping your contraception.

Learn MoreWhat to Expect When You Stop Birth Control

Learn MoreWhat Is Plan B Emergency Contraception?

Hormone birth control can stop you from ovulating, but there are also several possible medical causes. These include:Being underweightBeing obeseEndocrine disordersPrimary ovarian insufficiencyPolycystic ovary syndromeAgingLearn MoreEverything You Need to Know About Ovulation

Hormone birth control can stop you from ovulating, but there are also several possible medical causes. These include:Being underweightBeing obeseEndocrine disordersPrimary ovarian insufficiencyPolycystic ovary syndromeAging

Hormone birth control can stop you from ovulating, but there are also several possible medical causes. These include:

Learn MoreEverything You Need to Know About Ovulation

10 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.Combined hormonal birth control: pill, patch, and ring.Bouchard TP, Fehring RJ, Schneider MM.Achieving pregnancy using primary care interventions to identify the fertile window.Front Med(Lausanne). 2017;4:250. doi:10.3389/fmed.2017.00250MedlinePlus.Birth control pills.American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.Progestin-only hormonal birth control: pill and injection.Chabbert-Buffet N, Jamin C, Lete I, et al.Missed pills: frequency, reasons, consequences and solutions.Eur J Contracept Reprod Health Care. 2017;22(3):165-169. doi:1080/13625187.2017.1295437MedlinePlus.Ovulation home test.Girum T, Wasie A.Return of fertility after discontinuation of contraception: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Contracept Reprod Med. 2018;3:9. doi:10.1186/s40834-018-0064-yPeck R, Rella W, Tudela J, Aznar J, Mozzanega B.Does levonorgestrel emergency contraceptive have a post-fertilization effect? A review of its mechanism of action.Linacre Q. 2016;83(1):35-51. doi:10.1179/2050854915y.0000000011Yale Health.Emergency contraception – “morning after pill.“National Institute of Health.What are some possible causes of female infertility?Additional ReadingThe progestogen-only pill - Your contraception guide. NHS Choices. Published January 8, 2018.Gebel Berg E.The Chemistry of the Pill.ACS Cent Sci. 2015;25(1):5-7. doi:10.1021/acscentsci.5b00066Office on Women’s Health.Your Menstrual Cycle. womenshealth.gov. Published March 16, 2018.Welt CK.Physiology of the normal menstrual cycle.UpToDate.

10 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.Combined hormonal birth control: pill, patch, and ring.Bouchard TP, Fehring RJ, Schneider MM.Achieving pregnancy using primary care interventions to identify the fertile window.Front Med(Lausanne). 2017;4:250. doi:10.3389/fmed.2017.00250MedlinePlus.Birth control pills.American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.Progestin-only hormonal birth control: pill and injection.Chabbert-Buffet N, Jamin C, Lete I, et al.Missed pills: frequency, reasons, consequences and solutions.Eur J Contracept Reprod Health Care. 2017;22(3):165-169. doi:1080/13625187.2017.1295437MedlinePlus.Ovulation home test.Girum T, Wasie A.Return of fertility after discontinuation of contraception: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Contracept Reprod Med. 2018;3:9. doi:10.1186/s40834-018-0064-yPeck R, Rella W, Tudela J, Aznar J, Mozzanega B.Does levonorgestrel emergency contraceptive have a post-fertilization effect? A review of its mechanism of action.Linacre Q. 2016;83(1):35-51. doi:10.1179/2050854915y.0000000011Yale Health.Emergency contraception – “morning after pill.“National Institute of Health.What are some possible causes of female infertility?Additional ReadingThe progestogen-only pill - Your contraception guide. NHS Choices. Published January 8, 2018.Gebel Berg E.The Chemistry of the Pill.ACS Cent Sci. 2015;25(1):5-7. doi:10.1021/acscentsci.5b00066Office on Women’s Health.Your Menstrual Cycle. womenshealth.gov. Published March 16, 2018.Welt CK.Physiology of the normal menstrual cycle.UpToDate.

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.Combined hormonal birth control: pill, patch, and ring.Bouchard TP, Fehring RJ, Schneider MM.Achieving pregnancy using primary care interventions to identify the fertile window.Front Med(Lausanne). 2017;4:250. doi:10.3389/fmed.2017.00250MedlinePlus.Birth control pills.American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.Progestin-only hormonal birth control: pill and injection.Chabbert-Buffet N, Jamin C, Lete I, et al.Missed pills: frequency, reasons, consequences and solutions.Eur J Contracept Reprod Health Care. 2017;22(3):165-169. doi:1080/13625187.2017.1295437MedlinePlus.Ovulation home test.Girum T, Wasie A.Return of fertility after discontinuation of contraception: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Contracept Reprod Med. 2018;3:9. doi:10.1186/s40834-018-0064-yPeck R, Rella W, Tudela J, Aznar J, Mozzanega B.Does levonorgestrel emergency contraceptive have a post-fertilization effect? A review of its mechanism of action.Linacre Q. 2016;83(1):35-51. doi:10.1179/2050854915y.0000000011Yale Health.Emergency contraception – “morning after pill.“National Institute of Health.What are some possible causes of female infertility?

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.Combined hormonal birth control: pill, patch, and ring.

Bouchard TP, Fehring RJ, Schneider MM.Achieving pregnancy using primary care interventions to identify the fertile window.Front Med(Lausanne). 2017;4:250. doi:10.3389/fmed.2017.00250

MedlinePlus.Birth control pills.

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.Progestin-only hormonal birth control: pill and injection.

Chabbert-Buffet N, Jamin C, Lete I, et al.Missed pills: frequency, reasons, consequences and solutions.Eur J Contracept Reprod Health Care. 2017;22(3):165-169. doi:1080/13625187.2017.1295437

MedlinePlus.Ovulation home test.

Girum T, Wasie A.Return of fertility after discontinuation of contraception: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Contracept Reprod Med. 2018;3:9. doi:10.1186/s40834-018-0064-y

Peck R, Rella W, Tudela J, Aznar J, Mozzanega B.Does levonorgestrel emergency contraceptive have a post-fertilization effect? A review of its mechanism of action.Linacre Q. 2016;83(1):35-51. doi:10.1179/2050854915y.0000000011

Yale Health.Emergency contraception – “morning after pill.”

National Institute of Health.What are some possible causes of female infertility?

The progestogen-only pill - Your contraception guide. NHS Choices. Published January 8, 2018.Gebel Berg E.The Chemistry of the Pill.ACS Cent Sci. 2015;25(1):5-7. doi:10.1021/acscentsci.5b00066Office on Women’s Health.Your Menstrual Cycle. womenshealth.gov. Published March 16, 2018.Welt CK.Physiology of the normal menstrual cycle.UpToDate.

The progestogen-only pill - Your contraception guide. NHS Choices. Published January 8, 2018.

Gebel Berg E.The Chemistry of the Pill.ACS Cent Sci. 2015;25(1):5-7. doi:10.1021/acscentsci.5b00066

Office on Women’s Health.Your Menstrual Cycle. womenshealth.gov. Published March 16, 2018.

Welt CK.Physiology of the normal menstrual cycle.UpToDate.

Meet Our Medical Expert Board

Share Feedback

Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit

What is your feedback?