Can Birth Control Make Your Period Longer

Birth control pills, IUDs, the ring, and Depo Provera may stop your period during employ
Science says there is no medically necessary reason to have a menstruation if you're taking many forms of hormonal birth command
Ane exception to this dominion is the patch, which can cause blood clots if you skip periods regularly while wearing
Talking to your womens' healthcare provider about all your nascence control and menstruation concerns is an essential part of the process

Your period is an incredibly personal affair. You may hate it — and that's fine. You may also notice it reassuring, and that's fine, besides.

Various birth control methods affect your period in different ways. Some have the power to reduce or eliminate your period entirely.

For those of u.s.a. with very painful and heavy periods, this can be good news. But if you aren't expecting your flow to cease, information technology tin also be scary.

Your birth control may exist a cistron, just other things happening at the same time yous're using your new nascency command method may play roles, besides.

First things start: The catamenia you experience on the pill isn't real

Hormonal nascence command prevents your body from ovulating, and besides prevents your endometrium (uterine lining) from thickening and shedding the mode you lot're used to with normal periods.

When yous're on the pill, and y'all have a few days during the month when y'all're taking the inactive (or placebo) pills, yous might experience some bleeding and cramping. This isn't a truthful menstruum, however. Medical professionals telephone call this withdrawal haemorrhage , and it's what happens when the hormone levels in your blood drib equally you lot have those placebo pills.

If your period was especially heavy before you started taking the pill, and you notice that it's much more manageable now, that's why.

Although your period might be more regular and less intense, those placebo pills may or may not stop your flow woes completely. Since everyone's body is then unlike, there's no fashion to know whether your specific nascency control pill will eliminate your menstruum without showtime-hand experience.

Non having your period while existence on the pill is completely normal.
Tim Matsui / Stringer

Continuous nascence command pill use

If you determine that continuous nascency control — or skipping the placebo week — is the right selection for you, yous won't feel a period at all. This is a perfectly healthy and valid choice to brand, according to licensed women'southward health nurse practitioner Lena Crandell .

There is no medically-necessary reason that you must take a "flow" if you are not ovulating and building up your endometrium. Continuous hormonal birth control prevents the hormonal withdrawal that causes withdrawal haemorrhage.

Yous should know that some progestin-containing nativity command methods, such as the Mirena IUD or Depo Provera, may cause irregular bleeding during the first few months co-ordinate to Nurse Crandell. However, over fourth dimension, this bleeding may cease completely — for years.

Experts agree that not having your period while on birth command is safe

Taking continuous birth control pills does not mean that you're stockpiling an unhealthy amount of hormones in your body.

Splinter News spoke to several OBGYNs from the Mayo Clinic and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists who all said the same thing: The levels of hormones introduced to your body via hormonal birth command are far lower than what your body naturally produces, and particularly lower than what it produces while pregnant. Dr. Maria Isabel Rodriguez wrote this useful explainer about why skipping periods is perfectly healthy.

If you're interested in using hormonal birth control to take fewer or no periods, Dr. Valerie French has written a helpful guide to get started . One give-and-take of circumspection: Dr. French advises against skipping periods if yous're using the birth control patch, as information technology may increase your risk of a blood clot.

If you desire to have regular periods for the peace of mind, talk to your women's healthcare provider almost your nascency control options. A period can tell you that you're not pregnant, but so tin a pregnancy test.

Methods similar the IUD can cause irregular haemorrhage at offset.

The possibility of post-pill amenorrhea

At some indicate, you lot may decide to stop taking your birth command pills and wait to beginning having periods over again if they've previously stopped. If you've been taking the pill for a long time, be aware that information technology may take additional time for your body to adapt. It's possible that you may not take your flow for several months.

According to the Mayo Clinic , about women who terminate taking the pill will have their period resume within three months after stopping their prescriptions. However, some women may experience a longer delay in normal period service. This condition is chosen postal service-pill amenorrhea , and is non a crusade for concern on its own. As always, yous should consult your women's healthcare provider with any reproductive health concerns you lot may have.

Sign upwards here to get INSIDER's favorite stories straight to your inbox.