When should I stop the Pill?

There is plenty of contradictory information flying around about the Pill.  For once and for all, here’s how it works:  

The Pill acts on the pituitary gland to block ovulation.  As soon as you stop taking it, your own hormones will start working again and you may ovulate.  However, how long it takes your hormones to settle back into a proper ovulation cycle can vary greatly from one woman to another.  For some, it take just two weeks (a normal cycle), while for others it can take many months.  Even if you’ve been on the Pill for the past 10 years, you can still ovulate in the month following your last pill.  As soon as you have started to ovulate again, you can conceive.