![]() So there?s a tacit recognition that it?s not safe to do away with periods entirely. How safe or unsafe is this second stage in the contraceptive pill experiment? Even advocates of Seasonale recommend at least those four periods a year. In theory, I love the idea of a life with fewer periods: some might adore those five days every month, but I?m not one of those women.īut before I said yes to Seasonale, I?d want to know that this was the right thing to do for my body. Seasonale will become widely available over the next two years. Taking pills containing even low doses of hormones over a longer span of time with fewer breaks might have effects on bone density, might suppress the first signs of some medical conditions, and might have effects that we don?t know about, they warn. ![]() The other section argues that not enough studies have been conducted into the long-term effects of suppressing menstruation. One section argues that putting a stop to periods is unnatural, and argues that encouraging women to have fewer periods will reinforce the ?negative myths? of menstruation. ![]() Opponents of menstrual suppression divide into two camps. Especially those who delay childbearing, have just one or two children or stay childless. Our ancestors got their periods later, had shorter lifespans and were pregnant (and breastfeeding) more frequently, which adds up to far fewer periods than the modern woman has. It?s heightened the debate over menstrual suppression.Īdvocates for menstrual suppression argue that the modern woman?s cycle is unnatural. In 2003, the US approved Seasonale, an oral contraceptive pill that is taken for 84 consecutive days rather than the usual 21, bringing the average woman?s periods down from 13 in a year to about four. Aside from women who shouldn?t be using the pill in the first place, women who do this often might see an increase in ?breakthrough bleeding? and spotting between periods. Other women use the back-to-back pill to stave off a period when they?re travelling or especially busy. Though doctors do not recommend this method, women athletes have used it for years. Many women already know that they can skip or postpone periods: if you?re using oral contraceptive pills, just continue with the next pack instead of taking the placebos. Ordinary officegoers know the hell of inadequate bathrooms and interminable meetings home-makers know how debilitating heavy bleeding, cramps and back pain can be some women simply resent the discomfort.Īnd yet, if you could, would you put a full stop to your periods? The answer to that question is closer, and more complicated, than you might think. There?s the journalist friend who growls: ?Try changing tampons in the middle of a bunker with seven soldiers a few feet away.? There?s the doctor whose excessive bleeding means she has to schedule her frequent visits to villages around her monthly cycle. Men tell war stories women have period pieces.
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