You can start measuring the first day after quitting most hormonal birth control methods. Please read more about when to start after being on different contraceptive methods here.
How to log the first bleed post hormonal birth control
The bleeding you may experience on different types of hormonal birth control is generally not a period – this bleeding is called withdrawal bleeding. The first bleed that you experience after quitting hormonal birth control is also a withdrawal bleed because that bleeding was not triggered by ovulation.
For that reason, the first bleed that you experience after hormonal birth control will be logged as withdrawal bleed in the app. Any bleed after this first bleed can then be logged as a period. Learn more about logging withdrawal bleeding here.
How to make the most of Natural Cycles after hormonal birth control
It can take a while for your first ovulation to occur as ovulation is typically inhibited while using hormonal birth control. As a result, it may take some time for your cycle to return to what’s normal for you. It is highly individual how long it can take for the first ovulation to occur; it could take a few weeks or a few months, and in some cases even longer.
With this in mind, logging temperature data regularly will help the algorithm detect your ovulation. If you’re using a basal thermometer, make sure that you measure according to our guidelines. If you’re using an Oura Ring, you can find instructions for how to sync here.
Until your first ovulation is confirmed, you will be given only red days for NC° Birth Control. While you will have a high number of red days to begin with, your ratio of green days will improve with each cycle containing a detected ovulation.
If you are using NC° Plan Pregnancy, you will be given mostly brown days until ovulation is detected, after which you’ll begin to see non-fertile days presented in a light green color, and fertile days presented in a scale of red colors. Read more about colors and symbols for NC° Plan Pregnancy here.
When should I start taking LH tests after hormonal birth control?
LH tests are optional and not a requirement for the NC° algorithm, however, measuring LH can be helpful for narrowing down your ovulation day each cycle, whether you are using NC° Birth Control or NC° Plan Pregnancy.
When the app has gotten to know your cycle, it will recommend when to take an LH test. Whether you are using the app on the NC° Birth Control mode or on the NC° Plan Pregnancy mode, we recommend that you start taking LH tests when the app suggests you to.
If you would like to read some more information about switching birth control methods, you can head over to our blog post here.