Is it really true that women on hormonal birth control like the pill have to have a period every month?
No, they don’t. Believe it or not, when the Pill was originally created over 40 years ago, having a period was not the plan. “The scientists who developed the Pill thought that women would find it reassuring to get a period every month,” says Carolyn Westhoff, MD, a professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Columbia University. “The week off was inserted not for biological reasons, but rather to make women and doctors more comfortable.”

Why isn’t it necessary to have a monthly period when taking hormonal birth control?
Knowing how your body works on hormonal birth control will help you understand why you can have fewer periods. When you’re taking any hormonal birth control – whether it’s a pill, shot, or patch – the period you get every month isn’t a real menstrual period. The hormones prevent you from ovulating. As a result, your uterine lining doesn’t build up, and you don’t need to shed it. The light, short bleeding that you experience is due to the withdrawal of hormones. Pill users have this withdrawal bleed or “pill period” when they take their placebo pills.
The bottom line – you don’t have to have a monthly period when you’re on hormonal birth control. Not only is it safe to do, but with fewer periods comes the added benefit of eliminating PMS symptoms each month.

Will taking hormonal birth control like the pill affects my chances of getting pregnant in the future?
One of the Pill’s greatest areas of misconception is conception. Research has shown that the Pill does not negatively affect a woman’s ability to conceive once she stops taking it.
- Once you stop taking the Pill, you should start ovulating again.
- There may be some delay in getting pregnant after taking any birth control pill. This is especially true if your periods were irregular before using a birth control pill.
- Extending the time between your periods or the number of years you’re on the Pill has no bearing on your ability to become pregnant in the future.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 8th, 2009 at 1:00 am and is filed under Sexual Problems. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.