Pill Controversy

Many women would prefer not to have their monthly period. Now, women on contraception have a choice. Doctors say with the pill, patch or ring, women can stay on the active hormones for a longer period of time, reducing the number of periods they have. But not everyone agrees this is a good idea.

When Claudia Guerere works out, she has one less thing to sweat over. '"I choose not to have my period very often," she says. Six years ago, Guerere changed her pill regimen to avoid having her period on graduation. She just skipped the dummy pills and continued taking the active pills. Since then, Guerere has reduced having her periods to four times a year. She says, '"If I'm already on the pill, I don't see myself having lots of periods when they are not necessary."

Gynecologist J.K. Williams, M.D., of the University of South Florida in Tampa, says women on the pill don't actually have a period. They have a withdrawal bleed every month to make the pattern seem normal. He says, '"It's never made any sense to force a woman to have a withdrawal bleed every 28 days so that we could fulfill someone's marketing goal."

Instead of 21 days, a woman takes the pill for 84 continuous days. That means nine extra weeks of hormones a year.

'"The question is, is that a risk?" says gynecologist Connie Micklavzina, M.D., of Dedicated to Women in Winter Park, Fla., '"And the answer is we really don't know yet."

Dr. Micklavzina worries the extra hormones could increase the risk of breast cancer and fibroids. She says, '"I would hate to see us put millions of women on combined long-term birth control pills without their periods and then find out 30 years later that we were wrong."

Dr. Williams says, '"By taking it continuously, taking more of them, theoretically, over a lifetime, there is no reason to believe there is an increased risk of something that probably isn't there in the first place."

Risk or not, Guerere says she'll take the chance to control her own period and life.

Doctors say it's a matter of trial and error to see if a woman's body will accept the long cycle on the pill, patch or ring. For some women, breakthrough bleeding is a problem.

Content provided by ArmMed Media
Revision date: 12 December 2007
Last revised by Amalia K. Gagarina, M.S., R.D.