Question about the pill and my eggs

[Anonymous]

I have a preschooler and I am going to try to conceive again this year. I am getting older now (I am 38) and my friend mentioned something I've never considered. I've been on the pill for a good 20 yrs except when I went off to conceive 5 yrs ago. If I don't ovulate at all due to the pill, do I have more eggs because of it? Or do eggs die even if they aren't ovulated? Just curious.

[Anonymous]

you had thousands and thousands of eggs before you were even born. Whether you took the pill has nothing to do with it.

[Anonymous]

Yes I know that but if I don't ovulate those eggs, do they just die off? My friend has the impression that they are saved because they aren't ovulated.

[Anonymous]

Even if they are saved, they still age, so the quality might be diminished.

[Anonymous]

They are immature. Do some reading. Ova or ovum. As we age, damage is done to our bodies, male and female. This makes conception of healthy babies more difficult, but not impossible. Each woman is different with regards to her cycle. If you go off the pill, and your periods are regular, you might be ovulating. Ask your gyn if body temp indicates ovulation. They can do more invasive tests if you are really concerned about conception and viability of eggs.

[Anonymous]

By the way, we ars born with approx. 600000 eggs. Six hundred thousand.

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately your friend is wrong.

Eggs are stored in our ovaries from birth in an immature state. Each month a cohort of eggs starts maturing. The number in the cohort varies by person, age, and cycle. Some women only grow an egg or two each month, others grow 30+ each month. I believe 15-20 is about average.

In an ovulating female on a typical cycle, one of those eggs is ovulated. Ovulation triggers hormonal changes that cause the rest of the cohort to die off and get reabsorbed. In a female who is pregnant, on the pill, or otherwise not ovulating, the entire cohort will die off and be reabsorbed. There's no way to hit the pause button by going on the pill.

[Anonymous]

That's what I thought. Everyone would go on the pill otherwise to preserve their eggs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That's what I thought. Everyone would go on the pill otherwise to preserve their eggs.

Exactly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately your friend is wrong.

Eggs are stored in our ovaries from birth in an immature state. Each month a cohort of eggs starts maturing. The number in the cohort varies by person, age, and cycle. Some women only grow an egg or two each month, others grow 30+ each month. I believe 15-20 is about average.

In an ovulating female on a typical cycle, one of those eggs is ovulated. Ovulation triggers hormonal changes that cause the rest of the cohort to die off and get reabsorbed. In a female who is pregnant, on the pill, or otherwise not ovulating, the entire cohort will die off and be reabsorbed. There's no way to hit the pause button by going on the pill.

What a great explanation! Thanks.