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Contraception During Pre-Menopause

The best advice anyone can give you about contraception and pre-menopause is to use it. Pre-menopause, generally called perimenopause, are those months or even years leading up to the cessation of the menstrual period. During that transition period, your hormones are going to bounce around. Hormonal imbalance will result, which may cause you to miss periods. Your period may have been as predictable as the sun rising each morning. That may have allowed some women to use the rhythm method with great success; however, don't count on this method during peri-menopause or you may end up pushing a baby stroller on your 45th birthday--and it won't be your grandchild in the stroller.

  1. Risky Business

    • During pre-menopause, your periods may become sporadic and you may or may not ovulate. One sign that you are not ovulating is sore breasts--but do not use this as an indicator that you can't get pregnant. Breasts become sore when a perimenopausal woman is suffering from estrogen dominance, which occurs when progesterone is not made. Progesterone isn't made when ovulation doesn't occur.

    Conception Can Still Occur

    • Fecundity (or fertility) does decline dramatically as a woman ages but that doesn't mean that she can't get pregnant. Furthermore, a pregnancy late in life can bring with it a host of problems, including a high or higher risk pregnancy, a higher maternal mortality rate, and the possibility of having a child with birth defects, as well as a higher infant mortality rate.

    Pros and Cons of Oral Contraceptives

    • According to an article on Researchgate.net written by G. S. Merki-Feld, low-dose oral contraceptives are good for preventing bone loss and other perimenopausal symptoms but a woman's cardiovascular risks increase with age and increase even more if she is taking oral contraceptives. It is advised that women with cardiovascular risks, and perhaps even those who don't have them but who are older, use barrier methods (i.e., condoms), IUDs and progestin-only methods. Discuss this with your physician so she can advise you on what is the best choice for your and your circumstances.

    Post-Oral Contraceptives

    • Womentowomen.com advises women that they should not consider themselves exempt from conception until they have gone 18 months without a menstrual period after stopping the pill. When using it, the birth control pill basically takes over your hormonal cycles. When you stop taking the pill, it may be awhile, even months, before your body is free and clear of the hormones that were in the oral contraceptive. Ovulation could pop up at any time after going off the pill. Combine that with irregular menses during pre-menopause, as well as sporadic, ovulation and you may find yourself pregnant if you aren't careful.

    Considerations

    • There is a lot to consider regarding contraception if you are pre-menopausal, according to Adclinic.com. If you smoke or have high blood pressure, a history of blood clots, heart disease or estrogen-dependent cancer, you shouldn't take estrogen containing oral contraceptives. The alternative is progestin-containing oral contraceptives but there are drawbacks to this drug, including depression, weight gain and the affect it may have on your bones (osteoporosis). Non-hormonal methods of contraception (i.e., barrier forms) may be your best best.

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