This post is part of a series about continuous birth control pills. Please check back for more. And remember to seek advice from your medical professional before changing the way your take your birth control pills.
If you’re already taking birth control pills, you can possibly skip the unpleasantness (cramps, etc.) of the placebo week. When birth control pills were first developed, they included the placebo week of pills for cultural, not medical, reasons (so that women wouldn’t miss their periods). The pills were supposed to feel more natural that way.
Some women have been using birth control pills to manipulate …read more

This article has a correction posted May 15, 2008.

In response to yesterday’s post about the new FDA-approved, no-period birth control pill Lybrel, Alicia asked this question in the comment trail:
What exactly happens to your egg(s) when birth control pills prevent ovulation?
That’s a great question. First of all, let’s be clear on two important facts about the female body:

You’re born with all of the eggs you’ll ever need–millions of them, just chilling in your ovaries until menarche.
Ovulation refers to the actual release of the egg from the ovary into the fallopian tube, not the production of the egg.

Second, let’s be …read more

This week the US Food and Drug Administration approved an oral contraceptive that, when taken as directed, effectively stops menstruation for the duration of its use. Although the regular monthly cycle will be stopped as long as a woman takes the pill as directed, breakthrough bleeding and spotting are possible (and, if you ask me, likely).
Although many women are very excited about the idea of a pill that will stop their “little friend” from visiting every 28 days, the long-term effects of the drug and, more importantly, its effects, are not known. According to a WebMD report,
Side effects of …read more