Effect of short-term regiment of oral contraceptive

While some women start oral contraceptive regiment to prevent pregnancy for a few years, some are taking the pills for just a few months. The use of oral contraceptive for a short term is rarely discussed. 

Women who just started taking oral contraceptives may experience side effects, such as nausea, mood swings and feelings, discomfort in the breast, bleeding outside of normal menstrual periods, weight gain, skin becomes darker. Most of the side effects of taking this pill will diminish and disappear within the first few months after taking the pill. Usually women who just started taking these pills are advised to try for at least three months. 

When taken as directed, birth control pills fail in less than one in every 200 users over the first year of use.

 

Short-term oral contraceptive use and the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer.

Oral contraceptive (OC) use has been consistently linked to a reduction in ovarian cancer in a dose-dependent fashion. In 1994-1998 in the Delaware Valley of Pennsylvania,a study was carried out to examine the association between short-term OC use and ovarian cancer. They found a significant reduction in ovarian cancer risk for women who had used OCs for 6 months or less. This protective effect was observed in only that group who had used OCs for 6 months or less, and later stopped because of side effects. Women who used OCs for more 6 months were at a reduced risk independent of their reason for stopping. Thus, OC use for as little as 6 months provides significant protection against ovarian cancer risk, protection that appears limited to those women who stop using OCs because of side effects.Therefore the effect may be mediated by endogenous hormone levels, OC metabolism, or biological actions of the OC in the body.

What happens if I decided to get pregnant in a few months?

Women who takes oral contraceptive for a short term then chooses to be pregnant immediately may be worried about the effect of the contraception to her fetus. However,  there is no evidence of an increased risk of miscarriage, or abnormalities, for women who have conceived just after coming off the pill, or after taking emergency contraception. So, your baby won't come to any harm if you get pregnant straight away after you stop the pill.