Will birth control effect my ability to lose ...

it is possible.  The same thing happen to me and I had a hard time losing it as well.  The only thing that worked for me was the calorie shifting diet.  Because it is not a diet in a real sense, you lose a lot of weight quickly with eating 4 times a day but each day different food. 

I am not longer on birth control.  It made me feel terrible.  Not just did I gain weight, but I head these headache that were constant.  Uh....

Weight gain through pregnancy is just normal to women. If you are willing to loose weight then you can do a diet plan and have an exercise routine yourself.