Women’s health centre

No more periods

Karen Manser hated her periods. "I just had a horrible time. They made me miserable. Sometimes I would lay curled up like a little ball in the bed in pain." So she did something drastic: she stopped her periods altogether. At 44 years old, she hasn't menstruated for 10 years.

Manser’s gynaecologist first controlled her periods with an injectable hormonal contraceptive. Then with her gynaecologist's approval, she began taking birth control pills continuously, without the placebo break, to suppress her periods.

"Life is more convenient", she says. "You can wear white clothes and not worry about it. It's just wonderful."

However, is it a good thing to banish periods?

The era of optional periods

Menstrual suppression, as experts call it, is a very topical issue. Manser says that women are often baffled and alarmed when they find out they’re not menstruating. "They're horrified. It's like, 'You have to have periods because you have to shed your lining. This is terrible for you.'"

Several doctors talked to us about the pros and cons of eliminating periods.

What do doctors say?

That first menstrual period may be a milestone as a girl enters puberty, but for many the thrill fades fast when they're beset with monthly bouts of pain, discomfort, bloating, crankiness and the blues. Some women are so debilitated that they miss work or school.

Menstrual suppression can often ease troublesome periods or conditions that worsen around that time of month, says Dr Sharon Mass, an expert in obstetrics and gynaecology in the US. She has suppressed her own periods and often helps patients to do the same. "Initially it was for patients who had medical indications, for example a history of endometriosis, menstrual migraines, symptomatic periods with bloating, breast tenderness - things like that", she says.

The convenience factor is a newer concept, and women are slowly coming around, says Dr Leslie Miller, another American expert in obstetrics and gynaecology. Miller stopped her own periods for "convenience" during a gruelling job as a junior hospital doctor. Later she began medical research on using oral contraceptives to help women miss periods. Patients have told her that they've wanted to miss periods for honeymoons, holidays and sports.

Despite the hassles, many women view menstruation positively, she says. "When you say to a woman, 'Is the menstrual period healthy?' they're going to say 'yes.' It's a sign that you're young and capable of getting pregnant. There are lots of good things about being able to have periods."

However, she explains that women on birth control pills aren't having normal menstrual periods. Because birth control pills block ovulation, women are only getting withdrawal bleeding when hormone levels drop during the week that they take placebo pills. As a result the uterine lining breaks down and bleeding starts. And if taking the progestron-only pill, or mini-pill, some women have no bleeding.