I have 2 periods a month when not on birth control...is it possible to get pregnant?

When I am on birth control I have it once a month like I should. But when I am off of it I have it every other weekend. I have always had it twice a month. I am a 26 year old female with no health problems. My husband and I have decided very recently that it is a good time to try for our first child. Would it even be possible for me to have a baby if once I go off my birth control, I go back to my regular cycle?

[Elaine Brown, MD]

Hi!
If you were my patient, I would advise you to go ahead and stop the pills.  We usually recommend waiting about 3 months to let your body adjust before actively "trying".
If during that interval you do indeed resume the twice monthly schedule, I would then check some basic lab work including:  prolactin levels, progesterone levels, thyroid functions and FSH/LH. Depending on what we discovered with the lab work, I would probably end up recommending that we start something like Femara or Clomid to help you ovulate regularly.  If you ovulate regularly, your periods will space out to every 28 days as they should.  Regular ovulation also speeds up the time to conception.  If you are otherwise healthy, your chances for pregnancy are very good with a little bit of medical assistance!
Good luck!
Dr B