Birth control during perimenopause

Women typically ovulate irregularly during perimenopause. Therefore, it is still possible to become pregnant in your 40s to early 50s, depending on when you reach menopause. Continue to use birth control until you have not had a menstrual period for 1 full year.

Consider nonhormonal methods of birth control, such as condoms, an intrauterine device (IUD), a diaphragm, or a cervical cap. For more information, see the topic Birth Control.

As long as you have no risk factors, you can use birth control pills until menopause. In addition to preventing pregnancy, birth control pills also tend to reduce perimenopausal symptoms.¹ However, birth control pills are not recommended for women older than 35 who smoke cigarettes or have:

• Heart disease.
• High blood pressure.
• Liver disease.
• A history of inflammation of a vein (phlebitis) or blood clots.
• A personal or family history of stroke.
• Diabetes.
• Breast cancer.

If you are younger than 45 and think you have reached menopause, check with your health professional before you stop using birth control.

Citations

1. Speroff L, Fritz MA (2005). Menopause and the perimenopausal transition. In Clinical Gynecologic Endocrinology and Infertility, 7th ed., pp. 621–688. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.