Bringing an end to periods – three cheers for the “continuous” contraceptive pill!

[2 November 2006 - 12h28]
[mis à jour le 2 November 2006 à 18h28]

Having a monthly period is a completely natural event. But having periods when you’re taking the contraceptive pill is not natural at all. And now, by taking the pill continuously, women can free themselves from periods altogether. And for some, this is a real bonus.

Menstruation occurs when the menstrual cycle ends without an egg being implanted in the womb as the ovum has not been fertilised. Debris from the wall of the uterus – which had proliferated in order to receive a fertilised ovum – is then shed. But as taking the pill prevents ovulation it also removes the very cause of periods!

As Professor Jean-Michel Foidart of the University of Liège in Belgium recalls, it is stopping contraception for 7 days after taking the pill for 21 days that artificially provokes the appearance of periods. “This rhythm was introduced when the first contraceptive pill was created in the 1960s, to avoid upsetting women’s normal routine”.

For most women periods are improved by taking the pill. But it’s never a moment of great joy, to say the least! Hence the idea of administering the pill continuously for three to six months, or even longer, to suppress periods and their inconveniences altogether. “Some twenty studies have demonstrated the effectiveness and harmlessness of this type of pill ”.

The reduction of secondary effects and the alleviation of discomfort for women are the result of a number of factors. “First the reduction in the amount of oestrogen given, then the perfecting of new progestins, such as drospirenone, which are very similar to natural progesterone. Drospirenone has the advantage of combating the retention of water and salts in the body”.

Retention, caused by oestrogens, leads to weight gain and unpleasant feelings of bloatedness, swelling and tenderness in the breasts. “Drospirenone effectively combats this”. This new type of progestin, which is associated with continuous pill taking, offers a much improved tolerance of oral contraception. And a pill that is well tolerated is a pill less often forgotten…

Source : Interview with Professor Jean-Michel Foidart of the University of Liège

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