Quote:
Originally posted by cool_chick
How healthy can this be? I mean, the human female body was designed to ovulate and then eliminate the lining on that wall, etc., etc.
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Sort of. In a humans "natural condition", sexual activity begins shortly after sexual maturity and a womans life is an uninterrupted string of pregnancies. Less than 250 years ago, the average life expectancy for women was 36 years and the average # of pregnancies was close to a dozen. So biologically, a period is really a failed fertilization.
The question is; Do women need to have periods? The answer is no. When the birth control pill was invented, the weeklong break in the medication that allows a period was introduced for two reasons; 1) Pill failures (pregnancies) would be discovered earlier because of a missed period. 2) Marketing. Women were more likely to accept a product that mimics a "natural" cycle.
ANY monophasic pill can be taken in a continuous fashion so that you don't have periods. This is completely safe. You can do this for years and years. No need to have a period every three months of so.
Having said that, newer data is showing that BCP use in smokers is even more dangerous than we previously thought. Shouldn't be prescribed to any smoker over 35 years of age.