Little Cherry,

I’ve got a question for you about the pill. I met someone at work who was telling me that she took birth control pills everyday so that she wouldn’t have a period. Can you even do that? Does it depend on the brand? Is that dangerous? What’s going on? I’m not taking the pill, but if it could prevent my periods, I’d be all for it. Help me, please!

-No-Mo-Aunt-Flo

NMAF,

In regards to your friend, it’s difficult to know exactly what type of pill she is taking and how it may affect her health. What I can tell you is how birth control pills can prevent monthly bleeding… Perhaps this will help.

There are two main types of birth control pills: combined hormonal pills and progestin-only pills. Some women use monophasic combined hormonal pills (meaning that all of the active pills contain the same level of hormones) for continuous cycling. Continuous cycling is a term used to describe the process of skipping the placebo pills in order to prevent bleeding. Also, the progestin-only pills (A.K.A. ‘POPs’ or ‘mini-pills’) are taken everyday, which causes many women to eventually stop bleeding. [Other progestin-only birth control methods include the Implanon implant and the Depo-Provera shot.] The reason why these methods can prevent bleeding is that the constant hormone levels keep the uterine lining from getting thick- meaning, very simply, that there just isn’t anything to shed. Many professionals feel that skipping monthly bleeding in this manner should not be considered dangerous for a woman’s health. However, I would still recommend that you choose your birth control method in consultation with a clinician.

No matter what pill/method you choose, make sure you whip out your magnifying glass for that FDA fine-print pamphlet. Though it may be a dry read, side effects like headaches, abdominal pain, chest pain, eye pain, and severe leg pain really do need to be addressed immediately!

To find out more about birth control pills, check out our episode “Hormonal Birth Control.”

Keep asking questions,
Little Cherry

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