Contraceptives to Conceive

Perhaps we could find a new name for the birth control pill. After all, although we think of them only as a contraceptive, they're used for a variety of purposes: to ease symptoms of menopause and pre-menstrual syndrome, to regulate unpredictable periods and to control excessive menstrual bleeding. One brand is even touting itself as a weight loss aid! So why not use them to try to conceive a child as well as to prevent one?

Sounds confusing and contradictory, but the fact is that birth control pills are not really birth control pills at all, they are hormone regulators and it's this use that has fertility specialists taking a closer look at how they can help in cases of infertility.

Lisa McCall of Audubon, Penn., recently discovered she was pregnant. She believes that the birth control patch, Ortho Evra, helped her conceive after a miscarriage, a molar pregnancy, a course of Depo Provera and a history of irregular periods.