[credits: dailymail]
The contraceptive pill could damage fertility, according to new research.
The powerful hormones could upset the reproductive system for months - or even years - after women stop taking it.
Women who have used the Pill are twice as likely to have problems conceiving later.
The findings are the first to suggest a link between oral contraceptives and infertility, and come despite repeated assurances from manufacturers that there are no long-term effects.
Today fertility experts described the research as “highly significant” and said Pill users must be told about the possible risks. But family planning groups urged women not to panic - stressing that most women had no problem conceiving after they stopped taking it.
The link emerged in a study of more than 2,200 women attending UK antenatal clinics. More than 40 per cent had taken combined oral contraceptives - the most common form - while 19 per cent had used condoms.
Five per cent had used other types of Pill, 13 per cent had used no contraception at all, and the rest had used hormonal implants, coils, or other methods.
On average, the women had been using contraceptives for three and a half years before trying for a baby. Overall, two thirds became pregnant within six months.
On average, however, former Pill users took twice as long to conceive than those who had used condoms. The longer they had been on the Pill, the longer it took to conceive.
The study, led by gynaecologist Stephen Killick at Hull Royal Infirmary, says: “In all, 6.5 per cent of previous combined Pill users took more than two years to conceive, compared with 2.6 per cent of condom users.”
The risks appear to be even greater among women who are over 35, or obese, or suffer from irregular periods. Over-35s who had taken the Pill took two-and-a-half times as long to conceive as those in the same age bracket who had used condoms.
Although 70 per cent of former Pill users became pregnant within six months, the researchers believe the hormones may take time to wear off among some women, in whom they may stop the ovaries releasing eggs normally.
Around three million women in Britain are on the Pill, most taking the combined as opposed to the progesterone-only version. It appears the impact of the combined Pill on fertility wears off after two years at the most.
