Making babies after the Mirena may be easier than you think! Once the IUD has been removed, you can expect a quick return to your normal menstrual cycles and fertility levels.
Having Babies After the Mirena
Once your Mirena has been removed, your fertility will return to normal very quickly — perhaps as soon as your current cycle. It is for this reason that doctors recommend adding folic acid or prenatal vitamins to your diet before you have the device removed. Keep in mind that if you do try to get pregnant after the Mirena right away and you succeed, it will be harder to pinpoint your exact due date and your body wont have a chance to have a complete menstrual cycle without the Mirena hormones. These are small considerations in the grand scheme of things and fortunately, getting pregnant after the Mirena has been removed, even if it is very quickly, wont harm your baby at all.
How Do I Get the Mirena Removed?
Getting the Mirena removed requires a trip to your doctor. Once you decide you want to have a baby, waiting for a doctors appointment to have the Mirena removed seems like a lifetime. But whatever you do, don’t try to remove the Mirena yourself! It may seem like a simple process, given the fact that you can actually feel the strings, but it is much safer and you run less risk of injury by having a doctor who is trained in Mirena removal take it out for you. Don’t worry about it hurting, either. It was probably more uncomfortable going in than it will be coming out.
What Happens If I Get Pregnant with the Mirena In Place?
Getting pregnant while using a Mirena is very unlikely, but no contraception works with 100% certainty so pregnancy is a (remote) possibility. If you do become pregnant while on the Mirena, contact your doctor right away. Most likely, he or she will recommend removing the Mirena if you are pregnant because keeping it in while pregnant can cause miscarriage. Removing it also carries a risk of miscarriage but that risk is much smaller than it is with leaving it in place.
Another reason to see your doctor immediately if you suspect you are pregnant with the Mirena in place is because there is a high likelihood the pregnancy is ectopic. Ectopic pregnancies are dangerous and are not viable. In an ectopic pregnancy the egg becomes implanted in a fallopian tube, not the womb. It is for this reason that the embryo cannot survive. Even though the pregnancy isn’t viable, there’s still a risk to the mother, especially if the egg ruptures. Scarring, pain, and blood loss are two of the biggest worries with an ectopic pregnancy.
Even if you’ve been on the Mirena for a long time, don’t worry about your fertility. Your cycle will return to normal very quickly after it has been removed.
