Seasonale – Better Birth Control?

As most of you know, I am not a big fan of hormonal birth control. No, I’m not trying to set women’s rights back 40 years; I am all for non-hormonal forms of birth control (condoms, IUD, other barrier methods). But women can have serious hormonal and other side effects from taking the pill or using the ring, the patch, or hormonal implants.

With Seasonale, you have the option of menstruating only 4 times a year. It offers the same synthetic estrogen and progesterone as the regular pill, but you take it straight through for 84 days instead of 21, so you only get a period once every 3 months.

Hormonal birth control works by essentially tricking the body into thinking it’s pregnant, so that the ovary lies dormant and never releases an egg. It keeps you hormonally locked into the luteal phase (second half) of the menstrual cycle so that the brain does not signal for an egg to be released (ovulation). The period you get on the pill is not a real ‘period’ at all: it’s actually just breakthrough bleeding, because the hormones that cause the uterine lining to build up for a real period have been suppressed.

So here’s the thing. There are plenty of pros (may prevent some reproductive cancers) and cons (can cause high blood pressure, high blood sugar, stroke, blood clots) to the pill. But at the end of the day, you’re taking synthetic hormones, and they effect every woman differently because we are all have biochemically different. The pill can contribute greatly to estrogen dominance, which is implicated in breast cancer, infertility, endometriosis, and menstrual irregularities. And there is still a lot of controversy surrounding the pill and breast cancer.

As far as Seasonale goes, it’s too early to tell what any consequences may surface. It has only been on the market a short time and was only tested for a year. Do you want to participate in the human experiment? You’re ingesting 23 percent more synthetic hormone, which can increase side effects and long-term adverse hormonal effects.

Using potent hormones non-stop also deprives a woman of the only naturally-occurring means of ridding her body of excess stored iron. Excess stored iron is a risk factor for heart attacks and strokes. It can also be difficult to ensure that you are not pregnant without a monthly period, and even though the pill is 99 percent effective when taken as directed, there is a window for error.

The data from Seasonale clinical trials show that many women, especially in the first few cycles of use, had more unplanned bleeding and spotting between the expected menstrual periods than women taking a conventional 28-day cycle oral contraceptive. Worth it?

Birth control is a very personal issue. But do be aware that taking a 3-month dose of synthetic hormones can lead to long-term estrogen dominance, and that can put you at risk for infertility and even certain cancers. I would strongly discourage women with breast cancer in the immediate family (sibling, mother) to avoid hormonal birth control.

Here’s another thing. Why must we tinker with nature? Menstruation is the essence of the cyclical rhythm that connects women with their bodies and the reproductive cycle. People today are very disassociated with their bodies and their connection to nature and their own natural rhythms. We’re socialized to believe bodily functions are “dirty” or embarrassing. This pill is the perfect example: using a synthetic substance to suppress your body’s natural rhythm in order to avoid the “inconvenience” of a period. I believe the more we tune into ourselves, the healthier we are, both physically and mentally.

Food for thought.