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
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Supported by a grant from Wyeth Research, Collegeville, Pa.
K.B. was an investigator for this poststudy follow-up and received research funding from Wyeth Research, Collegeville, Pa. Other sources of research funding and/or financial relationships include Novo Nordisk (consultant), Organon (speaker and investigator), Johnson & Johnson, Duramed, Xanodyne, Boehringer Ingelheim, Third Wave, Pfizer, and MGI Pharma (investigator). S.M., G.G., and G.C. are employees of Wyeth Research. Other financial affiliation for G.G. is Johnson & Johnson. S.M. and G.C. have no other financial affiliation to disclose.
PII: S0015-0282(08)00484-6
doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2008.02.122
© 2009 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

