The first birth control pill designed to indefinitely prevent a woman’s monthly period received approval from the Food and Drug Administration last week.
The pill, called Lybrel, is the first oral contraceptive meant to be taken continuously, meaning that an active pill will be taken every day without the usual placebo interval each month.
“It has become more clear that it is not necessary to have a monthly period, so we are slowly changing the way birth control pills are administered,” said Judith Mikacich, assistant clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
Most birth control pills, including Lybrel, suppress ovulation through a constant dose of the hormones estrogen and progestin.
In traditional birth control pills, menstrual symptoms and bleeding occur during the interval when placebo pills are taken, but Lybrel prevents menstrual periods completely because the hormones are being given continuously, Mikacich said.
But not all bleeding is prevented.
Unscheduled breakthrough bleeding and spotting often replaces scheduled menstruation, especially in the first three months of the pill, said Andrea Rapkin, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the David Geffen School of Medicine.
One study found that 41 percent of women who took Lybrel for a year still experienced bleeding or spotting during the last month of the study.
The convenience of having no scheduled menstruation should be weighed against the inconvenience of unexpected bleeding or spotting when considering the use of Lybrel, the FDA stated in a press release.
“I personally think it would be beneficial to take away my period because it’s annoying,” said Colleen Clark, a third-year communication studies student. “Overall, the benefits outweigh the negative aspects, so I would probably take the pill that can get rid of my period if I were to choose between that and the traditional pills.”
Other than an increase in unexpected bleeding, there is so far no data suggesting additional side effects or risks associated with not having a monthly period.
Lybrel also does not appear to hurt later fertility, as 99 percent of women began having their periods or became pregnant within 90 days of discontinuing use of Lybrel, according to a study by Wyeth, the company which manufactures Lybrel.
But the general risks of taking any type of birth control pill are still present with Lybrel, including increased risk of heart attack, stroke or blood clot, according to the FDA press release.
Lybrel will likely interest some of the 12 million women who take birth control pills in the U.S., but others may feel more comfortable occasionally having their period, Mikacich said.
“In my experience, people don’t like not having a period at all because they think that having a period every month means they are intact reproductive-wise,” Mikacich said. “There is a group of people who would think this is a nice option. It depends on how bothered they are by their period.”
Most of the women who take birth control pills do so to prevent pregnancy, but there are also some who take them to regulate their period or for other medical reasons.
“People who have heavy periods or bad mood symptoms when on periods would want this because the pill would eliminate those,” Mikacich said.
One drawback to a pill that prevents periods is that it would be more difficult for a woman to detect if she is pregnant, as a missed period is an indicator of pregnancy. However, Rapkin said this would not be the case with Lybrel.
Like most other birth control pills, Lybrel can prevent pregnancy in over 99 percent of women. However, the actual effectiveness is somewhat lower, around 98 percent, due to some people’s failure to take the pill every day, Rapkin said.
Wyeth plans to begin selling Lybrel in July but the cost of the pill and its potential availability at the Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center are unknown.