3 Month Birth Control Pills and Why They Aren't EVIL!

Okay. I have experienced a lot of negativity from women about the birth control pills that give you 4 periods a year, calling it 'unnatural', 'dangerous', etc. I feel that all of these comments are very ignorant and come from simply being uneducated in the matter. So I've written this to dispel all of these myths about this type of birth control (Which I happen to be on and love!)

There is NO medical reason or need to have your period if you are on any type of pill, because it is a pill-induced period, not a real period. The ONLY reason pills have a placebo week each month is because when birth control was invented in the 50's the church disapproved of women having no periods. So Gregory Pincus and John Rock (the inventors) decided to build in an unnecessary and artificial and monthly pill period that mimics nature's menstrual period. If you are on ANY type of birth control pill, you are not having natural menstrual periods. Period.

When a woman takes the Pill her normal menstrual cycle is interrupted. In effect, the Pill tricks the body into believing it is pregnant. When the Pill was being developed, however, it was felt that women would find the lack of a normal menstrual cycle disconcerting. Many women, for example, rely on their regular menstrual period for reassurance of not being pregnant. Consequently, it was decided to have the Pill consist of 21 days of active pills (pills containing the hormones), followed by a pill-free interval of seven days (either no pills or sugar pills). The rapid decline in the artificial hormones which occurs in the pill-free interval results in a 'withdrawal bleed', which somewhat resembles a menstrual period and is often still referred to as a 'period' for simplicity. It is important, however, for women to understand that when they take the Pill the bleeding which occurs during the pill free interval is not a menstrual period.

Similarly, women should be aware the current packaging of the Pill (21 active pills, seven day pill free interval) was developed primarily for acceptability reasons and not because of any physiological reason. Indeed, contraception expert John Guillebaud explains "When you think about it we have here a bizarre contraceptive: one that we providers actually instruct the users not to use - for 25% of the time" (4). As Guillebaud suggests, the pill free interval is the 'Achilles heel' of the Pill's efficacy as it can contribute to pill failure. To stop ovulation from occurring a woman needs to take seven consecutive active pills. In addition, if more than seven days are missed a woman risks ovulation and, if unprotected intercourse occurs, pregnancy. The lengthening of the pill free interval is one of the most common causes of pill failure and is often associated with a woman starting her new Pill packet late. It is very easy to start a pill packet late with women either simply forgetting or not having their new packet with them. - ( http://www.womhealth.org.au/healthjourney/pill_myths_misconceptions.htm )


Current low dose birth control pills are very safe for most women. It is very unlikely skipping the period or the pill free week would change the safety of the pill. Birth control pills have been used by millions of women over the past 40 years. The first birth control pills contained about 10,000 mcg of progestin and 150 mcg of estrogen. The pills being recommended for every day or continuous use have only 100 to 1000 mcg of progestin and 20 mcg of estrogen. This is a huge drop in the dose needed for the pill to work. Taking the pill every day should be no different than taking them for only 3 weeks with one week off. The effects of the pill do not totally wear off in that week anyway.
Taking the pill every day should not make the hormone levels build up any more than when you take them for only 3 weeks. However, you will be getting one more week of estrogen which could increase the overall estrogen effects and this is the reason to use only the lowest estrogen dose (20 mcg) for continuous or daily use. There are published papers about skipping periods and so far there have not been any safety problems. As a matter of fact it is possible the pill could work better to prevent pregnancy if it is taken every day instead of taking a week off each month.


Taking normal birth control pills and being against 3 month birth control pills is like owning a cell phone but being against microwaves because of the radiation.

Okay, I'm done with my rant. Feel free to voice your opinion, I would love to hear what others think of the 3 month pills. And I understand many of you do not support birth control pills of any kind, as they are unnatural. I am not aiming this topic at any you, but rather, the people that support the pill/are taking the pill themselves but think the 3 month pill is somehow more unnatural and more dangerous. That is all.