Length of the menstrual cycle after discontinuation of oral contraceptives

Abstract

Objective To investigate whether the first cycle after stopping oral contraceptive (OC) intake had a normal duration.Methods A retrospective study was performed in 680 women, 300 non-OC users and 380 women discontinuing OC intake. The length of one or two menstrual cycles was recorded.Results In the non-user group, the median duration of both the first and second cycle was 29 days (range 18–97 and 20–56 days, respectively). In the OC user group the median duration from withdrawal bleeding until next menstruation was 30 (15–82) days. The second cycle lasted 29 (17–122) days. The duration of the first post-treatment cycle was not significantly different from the next cycle or the cycle length in non-users. When the subjects were divided into different age categories, a significantly longer first post–treatment cycle was observed in the group aged 18–24 years, but a shorter first post-treatment cycle in the group aged 25–29 years. No differences were seen in the higher age groups. The ethinyl estradiol dose of the OC preparation did not influence the results.Conclusions The first cycle after OC discontinuation had a normal duration.