My mother (and maybe yours too) still insists that women shouldn't meddle with their menstrual periods. They think it's somehow unnatural and therefore unhealthy and just, well... wrong. They fear that changing the natural cycle of menstruation could have unanticipated health repercussions, now or later in life.



That debate is bound to reopen with the introduction of Lybrel, a new prescription birth control pill that ends your period for as long as you take it.

Putting aside any moral arguments over right vs wrong, natural vs unnatural, let's look at what the medical experts say about Lybrel healthwise.

Medical science has not reported any health risks associated with menstrual suppression, as it's technically called. In fact, when Wyeth, the makers of Lybrel, commissioned a Gallup survey of health care professionals in 2006, here's what they found:

"Approximately 97 percent of OB-GYNs thought it is safe to use oral contraceptives continuously, without a placebo phase, in the appropriate patient population. The survey polled 205 OB-GYNs and 200 nurse practitioners."

For many years, some doctors in the know have advised their patients to use standard birth control pills continuously (without taking the 7 days off) as a way to suspend their periods to prevent painful cramps and PMS.

The FDA's approval of Lybrel seems to sanction a practice that has already been going in the medical community in an off-label manner and permit the marketing of a product specifically intended for the purpose.

What's Really Going On With Birth Control Pills

Here's what happens when you take birth control pills the 21/7 way and the continuous way, as with Lybrel:

On the regular pill: You take hormone pills for 21 days and "rest" for 7 days by taking either a placebo or no pill at all. During this time, there may be bleeding but you don't have a real period. It's withdrawal bleeding that tends to be shorter and lighter than a normal period. That's because the hormones in the birth control pill prevent the uterine lining from building up so there is less blood to be released.

On Lybrel: You finish the 28-day pack of active pills and immediately start a new one, without a rest cycle. Because your body is receiving a steady flow of hormones, it makes very little uterine lining so there is little or no bleeding. After some months of taking Lybrel, you will likely stop having periods altogether.

This is a great advantage to women who experience difficult menstrual periods with painful cramps and strong flow or women who suffer from severe PMS before their period.

Most medical experts agree that stopping your period with a safe, FDA-approved birth control pill poses no risk to appropriately prescribed patients. In fact, some say the only reason to opt for the 21/7 pills that require you to have a period is simply to reassure you that you aren't pregnant.