Delaying your period with hormonal birth control
Can you delay your period with traditional birth control pills?
Is it better to delay your period with 28-day birth control pills or with continuous or extended-cycle pills?
Content
How does it work?
What is the difference between continuous-use and extended-use birth control?
Which types of hormonal birth control can be used to delay periods?
What are the benefits of delaying your period?
Is it safe for all women to delay menstruation?
What are the drawbacks to delaying your period?
What can be done about breakthrough bleeding?
How does it work?
Traditional methods of birth control — including estrogen-progestin birth control pills, the contraceptive skin patch and the vaginal ring — were designed to be used in a way that mimics a natural menstrual cycle. For example, a traditional pill pack contains four weeks — or 28 days — of pills, but only the first three weeks contain hormones that actively suppress your fertility. The pills for the fourth week are inactive. The bleeding that occurs during the week you take the inactive pills is called withdrawal bleeding. This is your body's response to stopping the hormones.
Withdrawal bleeding isn't the same as a regular period. Nor is withdrawal bleeding necessary for health. This is good news if you use birth control and want to have fewer periods, either for personal or medical reasons.
