Don’t like having your period? Hormonal birth control can be used for more than just preventing pregnancy — it’s also a popular way to go months or even years without a period.
Continuous use birth control involves taking hormonal pills without what’s called a placebo week or using other methods such as an implant, ring or injections without a break. This method can end the regular bleeding associated with periods, as well as the cramps, migraines and other symptoms of menstruation.
As social media becomes a hotbed for amateur medical advice and personal anecdotes, posts about getting off the pill and preventing pregnancy through nonhormonal methods rake in thousands of views daily on apps like TikTok. As influencers share their fears about infertility and the possible harms of suppressing your body’s natural processes, reproductive experts say myths and misinformation about hormonal birth control are on the rise.
To understand more about the risks, rewards and science behind using birth control to forego menstruation, I had a chat with reproductive health expert Dr. Kavita Nanda. As an obstetrician-gynecologist and clinical researcher for the North Carolina-based human development nonprofit FHI 360, Nanda has spent over 25 years studying continuous use birth control and other forms of contraception.
Dr. Kavita Nanda: Combined contraceptives use synthetic forms of estrogen and progesterone together. Combination methods work to prevent pregnancy by preventing ovulation, which is the release of an egg from the ovaries. Other methods use synthetic progesterone only, including pills, implants, injectables and intrauterine devices, or IUDs. Both combined and progestin-only methods make the mucus in your cervix thicker, which makes it hard for sperm to enter the uterus, and the lining of your uterus also remains thin.