by Keri Burson
Daily Lobo
Some women may soon have one less thing to worry about thanks to a birth control pill designed to lessen the frequency of the often-painful menstrual period.
Earlier this month the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first extended-cycle birth control pill, Seasonale, designed to reduce the number of periods from 13 to four per year.
Seasonale, created by Barr Laboratories Inc., is based on a 91-day regimen, which includes 84 hormone pills and seven placebos. It differs from the traditional 28-day cycle found in other birth control pills, according to a news release.
The contraceptive will be available by prescription at the end of October.
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Bennette Meyer, a certified obstetrics and gynecology nurse practitioner at UNM's Student Health Center, said skipping periods by using hormone birth control is not unhealthy. "As long as you are on birth control, your body is being regulated by the pill," Meyer said.
She said using birth control pills to skip periods is something women have been doing for years.
"You can do this very same thing by skipping the placebo pills on monophasic birth control," Meyer said. "It's not a new pill, it's a new way of packaging it."
The timing behind the release of the product might be due to current trends in contraceptives.
"Not having a period is more acceptable now than it was 10 to 15 years ago," Meyer said. This was possibly caused by the introduction of other hormone contraceptives such as Depo-Provera, a contraceptive injection that often causes women to never menstruate, she said.
UNM senior Shawna Johnson said despite convenience, safety will be a concern for many women.
"Initially they'll think it's a good idea, but then they'll think about 'is this safe?'" Johnson said.
Extended-cycle birth control will be invaluable for women who have a lot of pain during their periods, Meyer said. "There are a lot of women who could benefit."
Although the pill will be released this October, Clarence Aragon, a staff pharmacist at the UNM Student Health Center, said he is unsure of when the pill will be available at UNM. He was unable to give an exact price for the contraceptive.
The average price for the traditional 21 days of hormones found in most birth control pill packages now range between $15 and $34 a month, he said.
"It's not what's considered normal," Johnson said. "You want to be able to make sure the pills you are taking are working. If you don't have a period for three months, does that mean they are working, or does that mean you are three months pregnant?"
Although oral contraceptives are proven effective, Meyer said nothing is certain.
"There is no birth control made, other than abstinence, that can guarantee you're not going to get pregnant," she said.
