Return to fertility after cessation of a continuous oral contraceptive

Objective

To evaluate the return to fertility among women planning to become pregnant after the use of a continuous regimen of levonorgestrel 90 μg and ethinyl E₂ 20 μg.

Design

Descriptive analysis of pregnancy outcomes after participation in a contraceptive trial.

Setting

Multicenter trial.

Subject(s)

Participants in a phase 3 contraceptive trial who discontinued to become pregnant.

Intervention(s)

Eligible subjects were contacted at 3 and 12 months after treatment discontinuation to determine if and when they had conceived.

Main Outcome Measure(s)

Kaplan-Meier analysis displaying the time until conception after oral contraceptive discontinuation.

Result(s)

In the phase 3 trial, 34 of 2,134 subjects cited a desire for pregnancy as a reason for discontinuation. Of these, 4 were already pregnant before stopping treatment, 4 initiated other contraception, and 5 were lost to follow-up. Of the remaining 21 subjects at risk of pregnancy, the pregnancy rate was 57% at 3 months, 81% at 12 months, and 86% (18 of 21) (95% confidence interval 64% to 97%) at 13 months after discontinuation of treatment.

Conclusion(s)

These findings suggest that a continuous oral contraceptive with levonorgestrel 90 μg and ethinyl E₂ 20 μg does not delay the return to fertility.

Key Words: Return to fertility, oral contraceptive, low-dose, continuous, noncyclic