On average, a person with a womb will menstruate once every 28 days, for 40 years of their life.
Menstruation isn’t just about blood: period pain is extremely common – 84 per cent have painful periods regularly – and it can be so severe that people miss days of education or work every month. Periods are also expensive, with the average lifetime cost estimated to be £4,800 (about $6,100).
It’s understandable, then, that you might want to stop having periods. There are times when a person’s periods will stop naturally – when pregnant or lactating, or after the menopause. But is it safe to use contraceptives to stop your period?
In the UK nearly half of all sexually active women stop their menstrual cycle through a form of hormonal contraception.
The pill, implant and hormonal coil all release hormones that prevent ovulation: the body doesn’t release an egg to be fertilised and the lining of the womb doesn’t thicken for pregnancy. As it’s the shedding of this lining that causes the pain and release of blood during menstruation, stopping its growth also, in most cases, stops periods.
“There is nothing bad about not going through the menstrual cycle,” says Dr Nicola Tempest, a researcher and gynaecologist at Liverpool Women’s Hospital. “You’re not depriving your body of anything because you’re giving yourself the hormones [through the contraceptive].”
Are there any downsides to not having a period, though?
For a person having regular periods (and not on a hormonal contraceptive), there are some conditions that would be identified if they suddenly started missing periods.
One missed period every now and then isn’t particularly concerning, according to Tempest, but if someone who was otherwise regular suddenly stops menstruating for months at a time, there could be an underlying problem.
Early menopause, defined as the premature stopping of the menstrual cycle at age 40 or younger, would cause a person to stop getting their periods. Another reason might be polycystic ovary syndrome, something that affects around one in 10 women in the UK.
People with either of these conditions would be put on hormonal medication as part of a treatment anyway, says Tempest. Both conditions have other symptoms that would help diagnose them, even if the person is already missing periods due to a contraceptive.
Of course, some people do experience side effects when taking hormonal contraceptives. In the long term being on contraception does slightly increase your risk of breast, liver and cervical cancer. But, as Tempest points out, being on birth control long-term also decreases the risk of endometrial and ovarian cancer.
In her opinion, there’s no need to menstruate. Whatever your reason is, “don’t have a period if you don’t want to have a period,” she says.
This article is an answer to the question (asked by Veronica Nielson, via email) 'Can I stop my period?'
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About our expert:
Dr Nicola Tempest is a clinical researcher and gynaecologist at Liverpool Women’s Hospital. Her research areas include chronic pelvic pain, exercise and reproduction and endometriosis.
