healingways
No Periods
pros and cons of
menstrual suppression
by lisa marshall
S
ome see it as a curse that dashes
vacation plans, stains sheets and
wreaks havoc on emotions. Others
view it as an integral part of woman-
hood, a welcome sign that we are
healthy—and not pregnant. But, in
an age with a pill for just about every-
thing, more women are looking at their
menstrual cycle as something
else entirely: optional.
“Fifty years ago, with the advent of
The Pill, suppressing ovulation became
“Encouraging healthy young girls and women to do
an option for women who did not want
away with their periods for the sake of convenience,
to get pregnant. Skipping your period
[altogether] is also an option, and I
without educating them about the health benefits
think a lot more women are going to
of a normal menstrual cycle, as well as the risks of
do it,” says Leslie Miller, a Seattle ob-
stetrician and gynecologist and founder menstrual suppression, is irresponsible and unethical.”
of the website
NoPeriod.com, which
coaches people on how to become
— Susan Rako, M.D.
period-free, via various forms of
contraception. to all women, not just the sexually active about the health benefits of a normal
Drug companies have made it aiming to prevent pregnancy, via a slew menstrual cycle, as well as the risks of
easier than ever. In July 2007, Wyeth of websites, industry-sponsored blogs, menstrual suppression, is irresponsible
Pharmaceuticals rolled out Lybrel, the how-to books and TV advertisements, and unethical.”
first oral contraceptive designed to not promising liberation from that messy
only prevent pregnancy but also elimi- time of month. “Fewer periods. More
nate periods for a year or more. Before possibilities,” cheers one Seasonale ad.
20th Century Roots
that, came the popular Seasonale and But, amidst the celebratory media
The notion of using oral contraception
Seasonique, “extended cycle” birth blitz has come outrage: from physi-
to keep menstruation at bay is nothing
control pills, to reduce menses to four cians, who fear we may be putting
new. The first “pill” approved by the
times a year. Yaz, a top-seller in this women in danger; government regula-
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
country, reduces periods to three days tors, who say the ads go too far; and
in 1957 was intended not as a means
or fewer; it is also said to address feminists, who wonder what message
of preventing pregnancy, but as a
severe acne and premenstrual dysphor- we are sending our daughters.
remedy for severe menstrual disorders.
ic disorder (PMDD). Then there is “It’s a horrifying prospect,” states
During initial trials, women took a
Depo Provera, a quarterly injection, Susan Rako, a Boston psychiatrist and
pill each day, suppressed ovulation
and the Merina intrauterine device author of The Blessings of the Curse:
and menstruation, and for many, their
(IUD); both can, in some cases, halt No More Periods? “Encouraging
period became a thing of the past.
periods completely. healthy young girls and women to do
But, under pressure from religious
Unlike conventional birth-control away with their periods for the sake of
groups, who thought not having
pills, many such products are marketed convenience, without educating them
periods seemed unnatural, the pill’s
0 Collier / Lee Counties
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72