A quick guide to skipping periods with birth control

That weekend at the beach you’ve been looking forward to or the first day of school or a new job can be stressful times to have your period start, especially if your periods are painful. Wouldn’t it be nice on days like those not to have to worry about pads, tampons, or pain medicine? If you use the pill for birth control, you are in luck—you can skip periods as you please.

What you need to know about birth control pills and skipping periods

The first step when you’re planning to skip periods is to check which type of birth control pill you are taking. * Many types of pill come in packs with 21 or 24 active pills—those are the ones that contain the hormones that make them effective birth control.

• The other 7 or 4 pills are placebos—they cause your period to start and are not part of what makes birth control pills effective.

• Some pills are monophasic, meaning they have the same mix of hormones each week in the active pills.

• Some are multiphasic, meaning that the mix of hormones changes from week to week in the active pills.

How to control your periods with birth control pills

There are some brands of pills that come pre-packaged for skipping periods, like Jolessa, Ametia, Camrese, Simpesse. But you don’t need those brands to skip periods like a pro. If you’re on any monophasic pill, you can control the timing of your periods. Sometimes skipping periods this way is described as continuous use or extended use—it’s all the same deal. Here’s how it works.

1. Make sure you have a monophonic pill, that you know which ones are the placebo pills, and that you already have your next pack.
   
2. Now you can start skipping periods. When you get to the placebo pills in your pack, skip them. Start directly on a new pack’s active pills.
3. After skipping periods, how do I have a period again? Assuming you’ve been taking the pill for 3 or more weeks, you can pause for a period any time you want. Just stop taking the active pills for 4 days. Then start taking the active pills again.

Aren’t women supposed to have a period every month? Am I hurting myself by skipping periods?

Well, that depends. If you are not on any type of birth control, you should talk to a provider if you are not having your periods (4). If you are on birth control, it is totally safe to go for months or even years without having a period.

A period happens when the lining of the uterus grows and releases, as a result of the hormonal changes. If you are taking birth control, the lining of the uterus won’t be growing and releasing, so there is nothing to be cleared out. And no, the blood is not going somewhere else, it is just that the bleeding never happens.

How long can I skip periods?

It is safe to skip periods for as long as you want! It depends on what you are comfortable with and whether you have spotting. Spotting (breakthrough bleeding) may just be a sign that your body is adjusting to continuous use of birth control. It can also be annoying to have bleeding when you are not expecting it. If you don’t like the spotting, you can have a period by pausing the method for 4 days and restarting it.

If I use my birth control continuously, does that decrease how well it works at preventing pregnancy?

After you’ve been using it for a week, the pill is the pill. It’s just as effective for people who choose to have a period each month as those who choose to skip periods. The only thing that makes these methods less effective is forgetting to use them. Studies of women who take birth control pills continuously show that they like having fewer periods so much that it helps them remember to take the pill more regularly.

Why should my pill be monophasic if I want to skip periods?

Monophasic pills will cause less spotting than multiphasic pills when you take them continuously, as they give you the same amount of hormones daily. For that, you can use combined pills, which are pills that contain estrogen and progesterone.

Another option is to use progesterone-only pills, which are designed to be taken daily with no pauses. These pills can also be tried to skip periods, but they are more likely to cause an unpredictable bleeding than the combined pills.

Besides getting to decide when I have my period, are there other perks to skipping periods with birth control?

Probably. Studies that compared menstrual symptoms in women taking pills the traditional way and continuously found that those who take pills continuously have fewer headaches, genital irritation, tiredness, bloating, and menstrual pain. Hurray for fewer period symptoms!

So yeah, birth control can be great protection against an accidental pregnancy, but it can also offer big benefits like having fewer periods and controlling when they start. If the pill isn’t for you and you want to have fewer or lighter periods, check out the ring, patch, hormonal IUDs, the implant, and the shot.