“Although a woman taking a menstrual suppression pill will take a few dozen more active hormone pills over the course of a year than a woman taking the 21-day version of the pill, there’s probably [emphasis added]no meaningful increased health risk. The small risks of stroke and blood clots associated with traditional oral contraceptives – increased in women who smoke – are also associated with extended use pills. But even though there are many years of accumulated experience with these drugs, this is a new product so there could be unanticipated effects over the long-term. The drop out rate in the trials has been high, and in the trials of Seasonale, for example, fewer than 300 women were observed for a full year” http://nwhn.org/menstrual-suppression
 

"Hang on....just need to suppress my fertility."


While doing research for a paper on women’s perceptions of their fertility (of which there is very little available research), I came across the website for the National Women’s Health Network. The above quote from their page on Menstrual Suppression leapt off the screen at me. “Probably no increased meaningful health risks”? “Fewer than 300 women completed the trials”? And not to mention the side comments about risk of stroke and blood clots…..but no big deal, really.
How in the world was this drug ever approved for use?!? Why are women so willing to take these drugs?
“Menstrual suppression” refers to the hormonal contraceptives on the market that regulate a woman’s monthly bleeding to occur only a few times a year, sometimes only once a year.  They are similar to the regular “Pill” that we’re all familiar with, except that they do not contain the usual placebo pills that allow for an artificial breakthrough bleed each month. As noted with a little asterisk at the bottom of the page;
*The menstrual period of a woman using hormonal contraception is sometimes called withdrawal bleeding. Instead of a natural menstrual cycle controlled by the body’s own hormonal fluctuations, withdrawal bleeding is the body’s reaction to the cessation of the hormone dose that the contraceptive has been providing. Whether she bleeds monthly or quarterly, a woman who takes either traditional or extended cycle oral contraceptive pills is not having a natural period.
The very fact that it is necessary for this to be posted is probably the saddest indicator of our lack of knowledge of how natural fertility really functions and our appreciation for an unbroken system.
The whole idea of menstrual suppression is troubling to me on many levels.   What are we saying about this very natural part of ourselves? What are we willing to do in the name of “convenience”? Do we have any idea what the long-term effects of this might be; not only on our bodies but our relationships as well? Have we given any thought to the supposed benefits of these drugs, or have we bought the lines sold to us by the drug companies focused on making a profit?
I can’t help but wonder what the subtle messages are that we are sending to our daughters when we say things like, “I’m going to skip my period this summer so I can be free to vacation and swim in peace.”? Do they grow up thinking that our bodies and their natural functions simply get in the way of our real purpose, having fun? What are we passing on to our daughters when we embrace these drugs?
There was one point of solace on this particular page, however, and came from the following line, ” Introducing menstruation to pre-adolescents and newly menstruating girls as a negative experience to be avoided may affect the girls’ body image and relationship to their bodies in negative and lasting ways.” Right on! Exactly. Teaching our girls to avoid something very natural to themselves is telling them they are somehow broken.
What do you think about these drugs? Are they really meant to make our lives easier, or are there other agendas at work? What kind of messages do you think we’re sending to our daughters when we take these drugs?