Seasonale Birth Control

From LoveToKnow Pregnancy

Although women in the know have been using birth control pills to avoid getting periods for years, Seasonale birth control pills are the first ones to be advertised for that particular use.

The Purpose of Seasonale Birth Control

Like other birth control pills, Seasonale is a very effective way to prevent pregnancy. It uses hormones to prevent your ovaries from ovulating (releasing an egg). But, Seasonale is marketed especially for women who want to reduce the number of periods they have.

Most other birth control pills have a week's worth of placebo pills in every monthly package. These pills don't contain any medicine, they're just there to keep you in the habit of taking a pill every day. They give your body a break from the hormones, allowing you to have a period.

With Seasonale, you take placebo pills only once every three months. That means you'll have a period only four times a year.

What's Special About Seasonale

There isn't really anything special about Seasonale birth control. For a long time, it's been sort of an open secret among doctors that women could avoid getting periods for months at a time by taking the hormone-containing pills continuously. Many gynecologists used this method themselves, while continuing to prescribe the standard regimen to their patients.

Part of the original thinking behind the monthly break from hormones was that women would be worried if they stopped getting periods. When the pill was invented, women didn't necessarily trust it and over-the-counter pregnancy tests weren't available. If a woman missed her period, she'd have to visit the doctor to make sure she wasn't pregnant.

Today, we have a number of birth control options that can change the nature of our periods. Women using the NuvaRing or DepoProvera often cease to have periods at all. And, if we're worried that birth control has failed, a $10 test from the drugstore can settle the question.

Seasonale and Safety

Getting a period only four times a year is convenient. It can mean less PMS, fewer pads or tampons, and no periods interfering with beach days or wedding nights. But is it safe? Don't we need to bleed?

The periods you get while on the pill aren't quite the same as normal menstrual periods. Without hormones, a normal, healthy woman will release an egg once a month, and her uterus will build up a thick, blood-rich lining to receive the egg in case it gets fertilized by a man's sperm. If the egg isn't fertilized, the lining sloughs off and leaves the body as a menstrual period. But when you're on the pill, there's no ovulation and the uterine lining is thinner. That's why many women have lighter periods while on the pill.

Most doctors agree that "menstrual manipulation," the practice of using birth control pills to delay or avoid a period, is safe for most women. However, women who shouldn't use birth control pills, including smokers over age 35 and women with certain health conditions, should also avoid menstrual manipulation. No one knows if there's any danger in avoiding periods permanently, so most doctors will recommend that you take a week off from hormonal pills at least a few times a year.

Seasonale and Side Effects

Seasonale has side effects similar to other hormonal methods of birth control. These may include weight gain, breast tenderness, and mood changes. Like other birth control pills, Seasonale birth control also carries a small risk of causing dangerous blood clots, heart attack, or stroke.

One side effect of Seasonale that you may not get with other pills is spotting between periods. Spotting and breakthrough bleeding (which can be as heavy as a normal period) are more common than with the traditional monthly pills. The manufacturers say that, while this is common, it should improve over time.

Using Other Birth Control Pills to Avoid Getting Periods

Many pills that are sold in monthly packs can be used just like Seasonale. However, it depends on the dosage and the type of medicine in the pills. Seasonale birth control contains 0.03 mg of ethinyl estradiol, a type of estrogen, per pill (except for the week's worth of placebos every three months). Pills with lower levels of ethinyl estradiol are likely to lead to more breakthrough bleeding.

Some birth control pills are designed to deliver different amounts of hormones at different times of the month, to better mimic a woman's natural cycle. These pills aren't a good choice for menstrual manipulation. Also, different brands contain different types of estrogen and progesterone, another hormone used to control ovulation.

The best thing to do is to check with your doctor before changing how you take your birth control pills. He or she can advise you on safety and effectiveness.