WASHINGTON (AP) -- A new birth-control pill named Seasonale promises to reduce the frequency of women's periods, from every month to four times a year.
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September 8, 2003
By Mary Pickett, M.D.
Harvard Medical School
How does this article relate to me?
This new birth-control pill is not a scientific advance, and the longer interval between menstrual periods introduces a couple of concerns. However, it offers a genuine convenience for women who prefer to have less frequent menstruation. The pill was achieved simply by repackaging hormones that are already in use so that the cycling of these hormones occurs less often. As this news article suggests, an ability to control the timing of your periods is not unique to this pill type. It is possible for women on any combined oral contraceptive to decrease the frequency of their periods by using only the first three weeks of pills in each pack before beginning the next pack's pill supply. This new pill's packaging may help in that it will cause less confusion at the time of refills, and it might cause fewer headaches relating to the number of pill packages that insurers are willing to pay for in a year.
Three concerns arise with birth-control pills when they are used with lower menstrual frequency:
- An unplanned pregnancy could be discovered less quickly. Monthly cycles can be an important signal that the pills are continuing to have an effect in preventing pregnancy. This evidence can be particularly important for women who might have missed one or more doses of birth-control pills in a month or women who needed to take a medication that can temporarily interact with birth-control pills, including certain antibiotics.
- Too long an interval between periods, in some cases, may increase the risk for uterine cancer. This is a greater concern for post-menopausal hormone use than it is for birth-control pills, since the hormones are provided in a slightly different balance. Women who are taking cyclic hormones (such as Premphase) during the early stages of menopause (perimenopause) should not eliminate the fourth week of their pill pack in order to reduce the frequency of their periods. For women on birth control pills, though, a longer interval between periods is probably not a danger. Overall, in pre-menopausal women, the use of cycling birth-control pills lowers the risk of cancer of the uterus. Not only is the lining of the uterus thinner (and less likely to contain a cancer), but also it is shed reliably each month. It is true that if the uterine lining is shed every three months instead, this does weaken one of the body’s natural defenses against cancer. From what we can tell so far, uterine cancer rates are not significantly affected by this modest reduction in menstrual frequency.
- The cost of birth control is increased by 25 percent if you adjust any contraceptive prescription to change to cycles every three months. The new pill, Seasonale, will be marketed with a price that is above the price of available generic contraceptive pills.
What changes do I need to make?
Aside from convenience, and aside from a small decrease in minor blood loss, there are few compelling reasons for you to choose a reduced frequency for your periods. If you would like to elect to reduce the frequency, discuss the most cost-effective and practical option to achieve this with your doctor, considering insurance and cost constraints.
If you are not on birth-control pills that control your cycles, less frequent menstrual cycles can be a sign of illness and can be a danger. For example, thyroid conditions, polycystic ovary syndrome, and anorexia can all result in less frequent periods. These conditions can result in either uterine cancer or osteoporosis, problems that are related to the lower frequency of hormone cycles in these illnesses. If you have infrequent or irregular periods, you should discuss your menstrual pattern with your doctor.
What can I expect in the future?
There are a growing number of new and anticipated contraceptive options. In addition to the three-month-cycle, birth-control pills (Seasonale), the most recent options to hit the contraceptive scene include the progesterone IUD (Mirena), the estrogen vaginal ring (NuvaRing), and combination progestin-estrogen shots (Lunelle). Lunelle was temporarily withdrawn from the market shortly after its release because of some inconsistencies in dosage. This contraceptive option is expected to return to the market after production and packaging practices are refined. These methods are highly effective at preventing pregnancy. However, none provide acceptable protection against sexually transmitted diseases.
Related Areas:
Birth Control Pills
Birth Control
