Having a regular period is visible proof that a bunch of hormonal fluctuations and bodily processes are chugging along smoothly in your body. But if you have a vagina, you also know that normality doesn’t always equate to convenience, much less comfort. Indeed, there are a host of valid reasons why you may want to delay or skip your period. The good news? It’s possible to do so safely by essentially pausing your reproductive cycle.
That might be especially appealing if you deal with an onslaught of painful or annoying period symptoms, like severe cramps or a heavy flow, or the intense mood swings and irritability of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). The same goes if you have a medical condition that gets worse with menstruation, like endometriosis, anemia, depression, or migraine. In these cases, being able to bypass the monthly ordeal could be a life-changer.
But you also might want to put off your period because you just really do not want to feel bloaty and crampy, have to tote around tampons or pads, or worry about leakage during a given moment in your life—like, say, your wedding or prom or a big vacation. The idea that it’s your destiny to deal with bleeding whenever it happens is “rooted in patriarchal ideas,” Jillian LoPiano, MD, MPH, FACOG, a board-certified ob-gyn in Miami, Florida, and chief health officer at sexual telehealth provider Wisp, tells SELF. In reality, “we’re no longer condemned to suffer through these magical moments,” she says, “and taking control over your cycle so you can live your life to the fullest is a really emboldened thing to do.”
Read on to learn exactly how to delay your period using hormonal birth control, plus answers to all your questions about it, including why this works, who it’s totally safe for, and what to expect if your ob-gyn gives you the all-clear to try it out.
It’s totally safe to postpone or bypass your period using hormonal contraception in many cases.
You’ll remember that in a typical menstrual cycle happening sans birth control, “a period is a reflection that your body is operating the way it’s supposed to,” Renita White, MD, FACOG, a board-certified ob-gyn at Georgia Obstetrics and Gynecology, in Atlanta, tells SELF. It means that your brain and ovaries are communicating properly and you’re ovulating (releasing an egg from an ovary) each month, she says. As a part of this monthly cycle, a surge in estrogen causes your uterine lining (your endometrium) to thicken in case that egg gets fertilized and implants; if that doesn’t happen, the tissue sheds, and voilà: a period.
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