Claris Law Legal Blogging Community

Editor: Robert Blanchard
Profession: Attorney at Law

Category: Ortho Evra Warnings

There's an interesting article by Linda A. Johnson, Associated Press that ran Sunday, exploring the trend forwomen to use birth control pills or other hormonal contraceptives to supress monthly periods. One 22-year-old woman interviewed had not experienced a period since she was 17 years old, due to her continuous use of the Nuvaring, a vaginal contraceptive ring. Rather than allowing for menstruation after the third week, she just replaces it with a new ring.

According to the article, this practice has been used for years with the pill and various other forms of birth control, including the Ortho Evra patch. This begs the question: is it safe for women of childbearing age to avoid having their periods for such a long time?

Linda Gordon, a New York University professor who specializes in women's history and the history of sexuality offers the following opinion, which is quoted in the AP article mentioned above:

She says caution is needed because there's not enough data on long-term consequences of using hormones continuously. Gordon notes menopausal women for years were told that hormone drugs would keep them young - until research uncovered unexpected risks.

"People should proceed very cautiously," she says.

Today's birth control pills contain far less estrogen and progestin than those two generations ago, but still increase the risk of heart attack, stroke and blood clots. The pill should not be used by women who have had those conditions, unexplained vaginal bleeding or certain cancers, or if they are smokers over 35.