Oral contraceptives and periods
The new birth control pill Lybrel is the first oral contraceptive designed to be taken 365 days a year with no pill-free intervals. Women who use Lybrel don’t have regular periods, although they may have breakthrough bleeding. There are risks and benefits to suppressing menstruation, reports the September 2007 issue of Harvard Women’s Health Watch.
The idea of preventing periods is not completely new. Conventional oral contraceptives also stop periods if they are taken continuously, and a clinician may suggest this approach to enable a woman to skip her period at an inconvenient time, such as during her honeymoon. The notion of suppressing periods over a longer term has become increasingly attractive, partly because this strategy has helped with treating endometriosis and managing the hormonal swings of perimenopause.
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