Getting pregnant after the pill

Julie's story
Julie started the Pill when she was 16, as she was keen on sport and competed at county level in swimming and cross-country running. At 28 she had competed in the Olympics and decided to retire from competitive sport and start a family with her partner Jonathon.

When she stopped the Pill, her periods didn't restart and she saw her GP after six months. He found that she was very stressed and although she was very fit, she was considerably underweight. She was still working out at the gym and training for three to four hours a day.

The GP explained that very low body weight and excessive exercise combined can interfere with ovulation and he recommended that she reduce her workout programme and eat more high-calorie foods. As she slowly regained a healthy weight, her periods returned and she got pregnant.

A weighty matter
Fertility is higher and pregnancy is healthier when a woman has a BMI (Body Mass Index) between 20 and 25. BMIs are calculated by comparing the ratio of the height and the weight.

BMI = weight in kg divided by height in metres squared.The maximum ideal BMI is 25kg/m2