When your period comes at a really inconvenient time, like when you’re on holidays, playing sports, or starting a new romance. Whether you’re in a relationship or not, your period can still prevent you from enjoying life to the fullest, or it can increase the stress and responsibilities of school or work,  or taking care of your family.

Periods don’t have to come every month!

• Many women would like to have less often their period. You can decide yourself.
• When women take the pill, the ring or the patch continuously (So-called long-cycle), they have a bleeding only 2 to 4 times a year – depending on how often they make 1 week off.
• With the IUD most women have less bleeding (and pain) and many women no longer bleeding.

A long cycle is medically safe, has many benefits and after discontinuation of contraception, it comes quickly back to regular cycles.
No more dusty myths about the period!!

Monthly periods are not a natural necessity. Historically, women experienced more pregnancies and also breastfed for longer periods, as still occurs in some parts of the developing world. During pregnancy and breastfeeding, menstruation of course stops.

But in developed countries, where women have fewer children and breastfeed for shorter periods of time or not at all, their monthly cycles have multiplied. Modern women have 450 periods in their lives, unlike historically when a woman only had about 150 periods. This is a new phenomenon.

For comparison:

See also: menstruation-wozu.info
Video: de.muvs.org
Video: stopping periods – Vagina Dispatches episode two (The Guardian)

With the triumphant arrival of the Pill in the 1960’s, inventors Gregory Pincus and John Rock also introduced a marketing ploy: Women could have a usual menstrual cycle so it would appear “natural”, even though hormonally there’s no need to do so.

A woman using the Pill typically takes it for 21 or 24 days and then stops for 4-7 days, during which „menstruation“ occurs. In reality, this bleeding is fake and artificially induced. (There’s no actual ovulation to cause menstruation; hence no need for an artificial monthly period.)

Read more: menstruation-wozu.info

With the new 3-month Pill, or by continuously taking the regular Pill every day with no 7-day break – there is no drop in hormone levels and therefore no bleeding.
This long cycle– taking the Pill without a break for at least 3 months – not only protects against unwanted pregnancy, but allows women to enjoy life without restriction. The long cycle also has the same benefit as „normal“ Pill use – it does not affect subsequent fertility.

Read more: menstruation-wozu.info

With a ong cycle – by using the new 3-month pill continuously taking the regular Pill (but without the placebo pills, if present), using the hormone patch, or applying the contraceptive ring continuously – you can determine the timing of your period yourself and decide when to have one. Just like women are free to choose whether, when, and how many children to have, they can decide when and how often to have a period.

From a medical perspective, however, women in their fertile phase of life should have a period at least every 6 months to expel the accumulating endometrium (mucous membrane that lines the inside of the uterus).

Many women want more time between their periods, as shown by the 2012 Austrian Pregnancy Prevention Report. (in german)

The only rule is that the endometrium should be expelled every 6 months.

This gives women control over their bodies and their periods by deciding how often and when to have them. Of course, a very safe method of contraception is also required.

The long cycle is especially suited for women who experience difficult or painful periods, or side effects like migraines or anemia (iron deficiency). Through continuous hormone treatment, cycle-related hormonal fluctuations are eliminated, along with cycle-related symptoms. Women who suffer from mood swings or severe cramps during menstruation can also benefit from the long cycle. Even if women simply don’t feel like having a period, they can avoid it with the long cycle.

Gynecologists also recommend the long cycle for other symptoms or conditions, including endometriosis, acne, multiple sclerosis, depression, and other diseases.

Many women think it could be harmful to have a period only 4 times a year instead of monthly.

On the contrary! Many girls and women suffer every month from headaches and abdominal cramps; they can’t concentrate at school or at work, they avoid physical activities, etc. From a medical perspective, studies consistently show no concerns around the long cycle, plus after discontinuing the contraception, regular cycles return quickly. Ask your doctor.

Information from Gynmed Clinic, www.gynmed.at

A hormone-releasing IUD (intrauterine device) has little influence on the natural cycle – ovulation continues to take place. The IUD does cause a slight buildup of the endometrium during the monthly cycle. Most women will experience shorter, lighter, and less painful periods.

After one year of use, a light cycle of bleeding occurs just 1-2 days per month, on average. One in 5 women will experience no more bleeding at all after one year. This is not a sign of pregnancy, but is due to direct hormonal effects on the endometrium. From a medical perspective, the absence of menstrual bleeding is completely safe and can be compared with the cessation of periods during breastfeeding.

More details: hormonal-iud.info

Many women suffer from heavy bleeding, which may limit their activities in many areas and also add a psychological burden.

Switching to a long cycle with hormonal contraception or a hormonal IUD gives women the ability to reduce heavy bleeding, with many positive impacts on their lives and health.

Here’s some interesting data and study results about menstrual periods:

Women’s preferences for menstrual bleeding frequency

Download PDF: Long cycle with combined hormonal contraception [541kb]

Here you find further links and information:

menstruation-wozu.info (in german)

Hormonal IUD and Menstruation: hormonal-iud.info

Gynmed Clinic: www.gynmed.at

infocard period free (pdf)

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